Mega Man: Rock On!
by SomeGuyWithNoMotivation
Summary: THIS STORY HAS MOVED TO AO3
1. Doctor Light's Robots

_**THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN UPDATED!**_

* * *

**Metropolis, Mega City, Colorado**

**May 23, 20XX**

"My name is Oswald 'Osric' Richardson, and you're watching Science Forum Live. Today is the last day before the LIT Manual Design Contest, and we have a most special guest." Osric gestured towards the man with the big white beard. "Dr. Thomas Light, inventor of the modern A.I."

"Thank you kindly for having me here." Dr. Light smiled and bowed his head, putting his hands together.

"Now, Dr. Light, how did you come to get into robotics?"

"I'd be lying if I didn't say my child self just wanted to create robotic companions like in old TV shows." Dr. Light gave a jovial chuckle.

* * *

_"It was while I attended the Robot Institute of Technology that my ideas had finally become a reality. In 20XX-26, the very first robot I created with independent thought was Auto. His design may be primitive, but his brain was anything but."_

"And here we are!" Auto placed a cardboard box on the counter, tearing open the tape using a drill bit in his right hand. "Thanks for helping me with all that, Light!"

"Don't mention it, but it's not as easy as it used to be for me." Dr. Light held onto his back, cringing in pain.

"C'mon, I'm sure it's not that bad!" Auto pulled out a peculiar mechanical part that Dr. Light hadn't seen before.

"You should really ask the others to help you out then. They're better made for heavy lifting than I am." Dr. Light straightened his posture. "I know I've helped you all these years but I'm getting old."

"Aww…" Auto sounded dejected. "It just isn't the same without ya."

"I know, but I still love you the same, my son." Dr. Light patted him on the shoulder.

"Aw, doc!" Auto wiped his eyes as if he were crying, even though he was incapable of doing so.

* * *

_"After creating Auto and getting research into robots with independent thought greenlit, I worked hard to make something never even conceived. An A.I. that aged like a human brain. My first attempt was successful, but eventually, he broke down due to a faulty solar core._

_"It was a heavy loss to me… But I used the information I had gathered from his growing up to create my two children, Rock and Roll."_

"Dad's home!" Two voices called out. A boy of eight and a girl of seven ran out to greet Dr. Light, running into his open arms.

"Yes, here I am, kids!" Dr. Light laughed and embraced them. "Were you two behaved while I was gone?"

"Yeah!" Rock smiled brightly.

"Wellll…" Roll looked over at Rock.

"Well?" Light looked at his daughter.

"Rock didn't do the dishes."

"Huh?! But I thought that was your chore today!" Rock shot her an accusing look.

"I did 'em yesterday, I already told ya." Roll stuck her tongue out.

"Now, now, no need to start anything. Rock, could you please get them done? For me?"

"Oh, alright…" Rock broke out of the hug. "Sorry."

"You apologize too, Roll." Dr. Light shot Roll a stern look.

"Huh? Why?" Roll looked defensive.

"It's clear you told on him just to try and get him in trouble, and to rile him up." Dr. Light gave a small "tut-tut".

"…Sorry…" Roll looked down.

"It's alright." Rock smiled at her. "Besides, the faster I get done, the faster I get to watch Ultra Seven!" Rock dashed off.

"It's always about Ultraman with you!" Roll laughed and followed him.

* * *

_"But what I'm here in this contest to show off is the new industrial robots I have created. The first two I made were Cut Man and Guts Man. Despite them having disparate creation dates, they grew closer as brothers than I could ever have imagined."_

"Come on, Cut!" Guts Man gripped Cut Man's shoulder.

"No, the job sucks! I'm done! I quit today!" Cut Man sat cross-legged on the grass, with a grouchy look on his face.

"Excuse me…" Dr. Light opened the backyard door and approached them. "What's all the shouting about?"

"Heya pops. He had an accident at work again." Guts Man patted the smaller bot. Cut Man was made for cutting wood. Accidents were all too common for him.

"Even if you paid me, I ain't lumberjacking anymore!" Poor Cut Man was an unlucky fellow, with a short temper to boot.

"A bit of bad luck is no reason to quit." Dr. Light scratched his beard.

"My whole life is bad luck!"

"Is there anything we can do, Guts Man?" Dr. Light looked up at the bigger robot.

"Hmm... This calls for drastic measures." The big guy cracked his knuckles. "I'm gonna have to bust out my secret weapon!"

"You wouldn't dare!" Cut Man immediately stood up as if he were going to run away.

"Oh, but I would!" Guts Man lifted the smaller robot by the arms with one hand. Being made for construction and land reclamation meant Guts Man had immense strength.

"Oh no!" Cut Man swung around, but the big guy had an iron grip on him.

"Let's see that smile!" Guts tickled Cut Man using his free hand.

"Pff-hehehehehehey! You freakin' jeheheheheheherk!" Cut laughed, forced to smile.

"There it is!" Guts immediately put his brother down. "Lemme tell you right now. Your bad luck won't last forever. If it's any good for you, I can come to help you out at work when you're having a bad time, if my schedule will let me."

"...you'd do that for me?" Cut Man brightened up a little. Hearing Guts Man's motivational speeches made him feel better.

"Heh... thanks, Guts. You really _lifted_ my spirits." Cut Man's grin widened. "Geddit? Lifted?" Both of the bots began to laugh together. An inseparable pair they were.

* * *

_"Ice Man was created for research in the Antarctic, but he's a lot more flexible in his functions as well. He has a particular rivalry with my detonation robot, Bomb Man. Ice's upstanding, do-good personality clashes with the punkish, mischievous Bomb."_

"What are you two doing?!" Dr. Light's voice rang out.

"There he is." Ice Man saluted the doctor. "Sorry, sir. I had to use my weapon on Bomb Man to keep him from snooping in places he shouldn't be."

"C-Come on, what harm is there in taking a little peek?!" Bomb Man's feet were frozen to the ground, unable to lift his legs up.

The doctor sighed. "It's fine. If you had to. But now we have to get Bomb Man free."

"I'll go get the pick, sir." Ice Man walked off.

Dr. Light looked at Bomb Man, disappointed but not angry. "Why were you causing so much trouble for Ice Man?"

"C'mon, old man! You can't hide anything from me!"

"Hide what...?"

"We're getting two more brothers, aren't we?"

"I... don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb, gramps! All that ringing and that crude oil smell…"

"Privacy is dead… Yes, you're going to get two more brothers, but don't tell anyone else. I wanted them to be a pleasant surprise."

"Oh, I could squeal whenever I want!"

"Okay, but that wouldn't be punk rock of you."

"!" Bomb Man made a zipper motion over his mouth and gave a thumbs up. Telling him his actions aren't punk rock works on him like squirting a cat with water.

* * *

_"Fire Man is a garbage disposal robot. Elec Man regulates the power plant to prevent blackouts and meltdowns. While Fire Man is loud, excitable, and hotheaded, Elec Man usually keeps his cool and has a particularly collected way of speaking. They are in all regards a funny man/straight man duo."_

"Oh, you're home early, Elec Man." Dr. Light turned around and smiled.

"Indeed, I am, they said they'd let me so I can mentally prepare for the contest tomorrow-" Elec Man put a few bags down from when he went shopping on the way home.

"YEEHAW!" Elec Man was interrupted by Fire Man almost tackling him. "You ready and rarin' to go, Elec Man?!"

"Fire Man, not so loud!" Dr. Light separated the two.

"Aw, c'mon Doc, he's gotta be as excited as we all are!"

"I am, I just don't barge into people's personal space because of it." Elec Man rolled his eyes.

"Elec Man, what did I say about that attitude?"

"I'm sorry Doctor, I just wish to discuss something with you. Privately. Please." Elec Man tried to be more polite.

"Gee, uh… Sorry 'bout that, bud." Fire Man looked downright remorseful.

"It's fine, I understand you want to show what you're made of to all those people. I can relate." Elec Man thrived on attention. Nothing made him feel more alive than showing off.

"We can certainly talk, but right now, I have important phone calls and paperwork to tend to regarding Bomb Man." Dr. Light rubbed Elec Man's shoulder. "Come see me in an hour. Then we can talk."

"Thank you, father." Elec Man gave a smile, but it had a tinge of knowing sorrow.

* * *

_"It was an absolute honor having you here, Dr. Light." Osric shook Dr. Light's hand._

_"Thank you very much. I look forward to the contest." Dr. Light gave a wistful smile._

"Thank you for recording the interview for me." Elec Man smiled and patted Roll on the head.

"It was Rock's idea!" Roll giggled. "He knew you wouldn't want to miss out on it!"

"I'm finished!" Rock put the last dish in the drying rack, turning around to run but almost bumping into Guts Man.

"Whoa, careful, little buddy!" Guts Man grabbed him and lifted him onto his shoulder. "You know what dad told you about running in the house."

"I know! " Rock gave a nervous smile and dropped down, poking his head into his and Roll's room. "Can I use the TV now?"

"You earned it." Elec Man smiled and moved out of Rock's way. "Go ahead."

"Thanks!" Rock opened a small box full of DVD boxes, pulling out volume 3 of Ultra Seven and placing it in the disc slot.

"Rock, don't sit so close to the TV, you'll strain your eyes," Roll said with concern.

"My eyes aren't like human eyes, I'll be fine!" Rock fidgeted, wrapping himself in a blanket.

"If you say so." Roll sat behind him. "You really love superheroes, huh?"

"Aren't they exciting? I wanna be like Ultraman, fighting monsters and the forces of evil!"

"You gotta get superpowers built into you, you know."

"I can ask dad!" Rock looked sure of himself.

"You could, but would he let you?"

"I... don't know." Rock's confidence slowly faded from his face. "I know he always worries about me, and fighting evil can be dangerous… He probably wouldn't say yes…"

"Well, if it'd make you happier, then I hope you can become a hero too." Roll pat him on the back.

"Aww, Roll..." Rock gently smiled.

* * *

Elec Man intended to go straight to Dr. Light, but something made him stop in the middle of the main lab. He wished he knew where Dr. Light kept all the records on his programming. Was he programmed with a paranoia protocol? Is that why he feels so crazy?

His musing was interrupted by an arm cannon tapping him on the back. "Wh- Fire Man?"

"Y'need someone to talk to, buddy?"

"Fire, it's-" Elec Man shook his head. "I want this to be between me and the doctor. It's nothing against you."

"I know, but I just wanna help ya! What's wrong?"

"I feel like I'm being watched. Stalked almost. I've been seeing that crow everywhere at work." Elec Man leaned up against the wall.

"Is that the real reason ya left work early? You shoulda said something!" Fire Man tried his best to give Elec Man a hug. "How big was this crow anyway?"

"How big-" Elec Man looked confused. "It was bigger than an average crow I suppose…"

"I saw a mighty big one at the garbage burnin' plant myself!" Fire Man scratched his head with the barrel of his cannon. "Orange beak? Orange talons?"

"Y-Yes!" Elec Man put his hands over his mouth. "So I'm not just paranoid…?"

"I gotta bad feelin' about this, but I don't wanna doubt the thing. Birds are my favorite creatures on this green Earth." Fire Man sighed.

"...I'm going to put my talk with Dr. Light on hold. I need to ask everyone something."

* * *

Dr. Light put the last of the papers into the manilla envelope. He planted his head on the desk, groaning loudly now that everything was done. He tilted his head so his chin rested on the mahogany before his eyes caught sight of a picture.

A photograph from his college days. Two young men, one with rather well-kept, rounded hair, and the other with spikey, unkempt hair, standing arm-in-arm, right behind an old prototype robot they built together.

A wave of guilt washed over Dr. Light. Should he have told the whole story during that interview? Should he have talked about him?

A knock on the door brought Dr. Light back to reality. "O-Oh, uh, come in!" he stammered.

"Are you finished, Doctor?" Elec Man cracked the door open and looked in.

"Yes, I've finished. You wanted to talk to me, right?" Light tried to smile, but it was still obvious that he was anxious.

"Nervous about tomorrow?"

"No... Well, yes, but something else has been eating away at me..."

"Same here." Elec Man walked over to Dr. Light. "Something's been bothering me since I was going to the power plant. This weird… robotic crow had been following me..."

"R-Really?"

"That's not all. Fire Man had told me that he saw a big crow at the disposal plant. I felt like it couldn't have been a coincidence. So, just earlier, I was going around asking the others if they too saw it.

"Everyone claimed they saw that same bird before you came home from the interview. Rock and Roll at the park, Cut at the lumber yard, Guts at the construction yard, Bomb at his demolition site, and Ice while he was at his zookeeping job."

"Wait, are you implying that we're being stalked by this thing?!"

"Well, that seems to be the case. It doesn't seem to know where we live, however. But what I don't understand is the who or the why." Elec Man tried to think.

"Okay. Tomorrow, we're going to take precautions." Dr. Light held onto Elec Man's shoulders. "We're going to implement a buddy system at the contest. I have to make sure everyone stays together and if that crow shows up, we should contact someone."

"A most logical course of action." Elec Man turned to exit the room, before facing Dr. Light again. "You keep looking at that photograph. Who is that other guy anyway? Your boyfriend~?"

"ELEC-" Light tried to keep himself from yelling. "Now is not the time for jokes...! T-That picture is extremely important to me!"

"And why~?"

"The… the emotional baggage that comes with it."

"Oh… I'm sorry, then." Elec stepped back. "Goodnight, doctor."

"Goodnight, Elec Man..."

Elec closed the door behind him, leaving Light to look back at the picture frame.

A hurricane of emotions blew over Light as he inspected the picture's finer details.

And as he went to bed and tried to sleep, memories came flooding back to him in his dreams.

* * *

"Are you kidding me, Tom?!"

"Calm down, Al..."

"Of all the things you name the robot, the robot we're supposed to present as a completely serious project, and as a serious step for robotic A.I, you give it one of the seriously stupidest names possible!"

"Rightot's not a stupid name!" Tom got defensive.

"It is too! That's like something you name a little baby robot!" Al gesticulated by putting a hand flat to the ground.

"I suppose you can come up with a better name?" Tom crossed his arms

"Of course! A robot that can think on its own, talk on its own, even act on its own—within reasonable limits. It's a robot with full autonomy! We'll call him Auto!" Al beamed to himself, proud.

"...It sounds like a robot for a car dealership." Tom looked mildly disappointed.

"It's definitely better than your name!" Al looked indignant.

"Alright, if you insist, his name will be Auto..." Tom shook his head.

"Then let's boot him up and see if we've made any progress!"

The two held each others' hands as they flipped the on-switch… the robot's eyes blinked before it looked at the two…

"Heyyy, Dr. Light!"

* * *

Dr. Light jolted awake, looking at either side of the bed before seeing that big green robot. "Oh… Auto…."

"C'mon, Doc! You can't oversleep on our big day!" Auto pulled Dr. Light out of bed and stuck him into the bathroom. "Get ready!"

Dr. Light sighed, turning on the sink to wash his face off. "Okay, Light, don't assume the worst will happen. Everyone can make it through this." He pepped himself up, straightened his back, looked forward, and made his way out of his bedroom.

"Doctorrr!" The voice of a certain orange bot rang out as he nearly tackled Light.

"Whoa! What's going on, Cut?"

"Come on, we have a surprise for you!" Cut dragged Light down to the kitchen.

"Slow down, you know my legs aren't what they used to be!" Light attempted to keep up with Cut's speed.

"Come on, come on!" Cut brought him into the dining room and sat him down in a chair.

"Good morning, Pops!" Guts Man laid a plate in front of Light. Blueberry pancakes, topped with honey and maple syrup.

"Oh, good morning! How kind of you to do this for me!" The doctor was almost always the one who cooked for himself. Usually, the other bots only made his meals when it was his birthday.

"Today's a special day! We gotta do something special for ya!" Guts turned and shouted down the hall. "Kiiids, are we ready to go when Dr. Light's done?!"

Rock ran out of his room with a loaded backpack. "Morning, Light!" The fact he was able to run while wearing the backpack was a miracle.

Roll followed soon after, but much slower with a glum look on her face.

"Hey, uh... you okay, Roll?" Cut approached his only sister.

Roll shook her head. "I can't find my necklace..."

"You mean the one with that fake crystal?"

"I looked in my backpack, I looked in my drawer, I looked around my nightstand, but I couldn't find it..."

"Did Bomb take it?"

"Hey man, I may be a jerk, but I don't steal from kids! Especially not Roll!" Bomb walked in, almost as if on cue.

"Feh, you wanna help find it then?" Guts snickered.

"You bet your sweet ass I will find it!"

Roll's face lit right up. "Really...? Thanks, Bomb Man!"

"Anything for my little sis!" Bomb immediately marched into the kids' room.

"Bomb really is a good person at heart. Even if he doesn't express it all the time." Light smiled.

"There it is!" That was quick. Bomb exited the room, brushing off his mohawk and the necklace's crystal. "It was under your bed! It must have fallen while you were asleep."

"Thank you so much!" Roll put the necklace on, then bit the crystal. She needed the chew necklace so she didn't have a meltdown going to unfamiliar places.

"Happy to help!" Bomb Man gave her a great big smile.

"For once." Cut Man snarked.

"S-Shut up!"

"Now, now, settle down!" Light had cleaned his plate. "I'm finished, thank you for the food, everyone."

"Then let's go!" Rock made a mad dash to go outside.

"Man, how much can those little legs take?" Bomb was quite shocked he was even able to run.

"He plays a lot of soccer, they're really strong!" Roll took Light's plate and walked to the sink. It was her chore today.

"W-We aren't humans, you know! We don't just build muscle from exercising!"

* * *

"Are we taking off yet?" Ice Man stood firmly in front of the van. "Did we do everything we were supposed to before we left?"

"Yup! And I got everything in this backpack!" Rock was getting antsy.

"...May I ask why your backpack is so filled?"

"Oh, I got plenty of games and spare clothes to go round!"

"Why do you need so much- Never mind, fair enough." Ice stepped aside. "Go on. I need to wait for the others now."

Rock climbed into the van, and its "guardian" walked, almost marched towards Doctor Light. "Sir, have you found a housesitter?"

"The same one as always, it's Auto." Light smiled.

"Y-You're joking... right? That guy?"

"We work with what we have, and it's been working every time we've had to leave the house all at once. Everything will be alright, Ice, I promise!"

"Now you're just tempting fate..." Ice hopped into the van.

Dr. Light looked behind him, seeing Cut and Guts walk out of the house. "How's everything going now?"

"Elec Man is still getting his makeup all done, he thinks it's going to matter." Guts Man shrugged.

"C'mon, if you were brave enough to wear makeup, you'd think it'd matter as well!" Cut giggled.

"B-Brave enough…?" He shrugged. "Guess you're right…"

Dr. Light leaned up against the van. "I pray that he'll finish up soon…"

* * *

**? ? ? ?**

"Take off, Pipi!" A raspy voice called out towards the dim light of his computers. He was an old, balding man, despite being only fifty-one years of age.

This Pipi he was shouting to was a small robotic bird. A prototype attack robot. But as soon as it tried to lift off, it crashed into the ceiling, smashing itself.

"Dammit! I still need to make tweaks to the design… But that's fine! I've still got way more than where that came from! That man will regret- nay, ALL of them will regret not accepting my steps towards mankind's progress, or my name isn't Doctor Albert W. Wily!

"And what better time to strike than today of all days! There will be no trophy waiting for you in this contest, Doctor Light... Only the despair of having all of your robots stolen from you! Nuha! Nuahahahahahahaaa-" Wily went into a coughing fit. "I still need to practice that laugh…"


	2. Doctor Wily Strikes

_**THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN UPDATED!**_

* * *

Towering skyscrapers stood proudly along the road, the sun helping to emphasize the city's beauty.

"Wowww… It's been so long since I've been here again!" Rock was staring out the window, looking at all the people and places.

"I haven't even been to Mega City at all! It's so huge!" Cut Man was kicking excitedly in his seat.

"It's a bit scary, honestly…" Ice Man was looking down and twiddling his thumbs.

"Don't worry, if we stick together it'll be fine!" Guts Man patted Ice on the head.

"That's right, we'll be okay!" Dr. Light parked the van right in front of a massive building. "This is the Megadome, the biggest stadium in the country, and where the LIT Manual Design Contest has been held for the longest time!"

"Hoooo-wee! Lookit that! No other place as grand as this!" Fire Man looked on with admiration.

"So many eyes will be on me… Oh, the thought is giving me the chills!" Elec Man twirled around, feeling the need to do these flourishes to accentuate his point.

"It'll be the perfect place to show off our skills! We'll make the work we do look fun and exciting!" Bomb Man fluffed his mohawk a little bit, making sure it was standing up perfectly.

"Alright now, get into pairs, everyone!" Dr. Light clapped his hands together.

"I'm going with Rock, obviously!" Roll patted her brother on the back.

"And I'm gonna go with Guts!" Cut Man hung off of the big guy's arm.

"I'm going to go with Bomb Man and make sure he keeps out of trouble." Ice Man stood beside the punk.

"C'mon, boy scout, it's not like I'm going to hurt people! I'm not that kinda guy." Bomb Man held his hands up.

"And I guess that leaves me with Fire Man." Elec Man crossed his arms and inched his way over to the last sibling available.

"It's gonna be a lotta fun together!" He chuckled and wrapped his arm around Elec's shoulder.

"Watch the makeup!"

"Settle down, you two. Let's go!" He gave everyone an ID badge. "I'll be in the stadium's auditorium if you need me. We still have half an hour to do what we want before the contest."

"Plenty of time to tell the directors how to light the place for my performance!" Elec Man leaned to the side.

"Yes, indeed…" Dr. Light led them all to the entrance, and as if he were opening the gates of paradise, pushed both of them wide so all of them could fit through.

* * *

"They've entered the Megadome!"

"Good. I expect great things from you..." Dr. Wily crossed his fingers. "Find Fire Man and don't let any of the other ones catch you, else the objective will be compromised."

"Yessir!"

* * *

"When I appear, make the lights pink, and each time I use my Thunder Beam, make them yellow!" Elec Man chatted to the lighting technicians with a laundry list of directions he had in mind for his section of Dr. Light's presentation.

"Jeez… Are you an industrial robot or a straight-up diva?" One of them scratched his head.

"Yes!" Elec Man replied

"Maybe I could suggest-" Fire Man spoke up.

"Not now, Fire Man!" Elec Man interrupted him.

"...A'ight." Fire Man sluggishly nodded.

"Now, I can't afford to have it all screwed up during the show, so we're going to practice it now!" Elec Man clapped his hands.

"It's not going to be easy for us, you know. This ain't America's Got Talent." The other sighed and turned away.

"You've been doing this for most of your lives and you're telling me you can't do a few meager color changes?!" Elec Man huffed.

"I just started yesterday, man…"

"And already your most important task has come! Act like it!" Elec Man stepped onto the center of the stage.

"Er… Elec Man?" Fire Man tried to step up to him.

"Not now, Fire Man!" Elec Man dismissed him again.

Fire Man kept his mouth shut. And shut. And shut… But it seemed Elec Man was going to be at this for a while. Fire Man was getting bored.

If Elec wasn't going to humor him, Fire Man might as well exit the auditorium and go see more of the Megadome.

* * *

Fire Man felt at peace looking around the event. Robots and their fans, happily congregating and showing off their love and their tech.

But the one robot that stood out the most to him was a strange black bird that came waddling up to him.

"Hey, I know ya! You're the big ol' crow I saw at work! Howdy!" Fire smiled, squatting down to give the bird a pet on the head.

"Caw, caw!" The bird flapped its wings, looking up at the hothead before leaping up onto his shoulder.

"So, you got any function, bud? Can you talk or anything? Have any special abilities?"

"Caw!"

"A bird of few words… A bird, built just to be that. Modeled off of an ol' pet, I reckon. The simplicity brings a tear to my eye…" He wiped his face with his sleeve. The bird began to peck around in his head. "Hehehey! C'mon now, don't do that!"

"Caw!" The crow hopped off from his shoulder and bounced up and down.

"Had a good ride? Hope I get to see you again!" He waved down at the bird before turning the other way.

* * *

The bird waddled under an abandoned table station. "The dummy fell for it! I put the tracker right into his head as you told me to!"

"Well done, Reggae! I knew we picked the right target." Dr. Wily clapped his hands together.

"But I'm curious… What's it for when you already know they're in the Megadome?"

"It's what those who like to play the long game call… 'insurance'." Wily sneering as he moved from the computers. "Now, it's time I crashed their little party!"

* * *

"You sure this is the place that bird is, Roslyn?" An old, scruffy-looking cop scratched his head and looked around, the "bird" they were looking for nowhere to be seen.

"I'm certain that it is, Gil." A much younger-looking cop pulled out a sketch from her pocket. "We just have to look in the right places."

"Well, so far, every single place we've looked is wrong. And I still insist that whoever designed this thing is a moron. I mean, that's supposed to be an oriental stork?"

"Gil, this is the fifth time that you've complained about the stork thing. Are you okay?"

"No."

"...Didn't think so."

"I don't even like robots and all that junk, so we better find him quickly…" Gil was flashing looks at everyone he could, hoping that he'd find at least one person who'd seen their target.

"Oof!" Someone bumped into Gil's leg. When he turned around to see who it is, it was a little kid in orange. "S-Sorry, sir…"

Gil glared down at this kid. "You're that Rock bot Light made, aren't ya?"

"Y-Yeah, why do you-"

"Leave Rock alone!" Roll immediately rushed to Rock's side. "Who do you think you are?!"

"Calm down, miss." Roslyn stood beside Gil. "I'm Officer Roslyn Krantz, and this is my partner, Detective Gilbert D. Stern. We got calls about this particular robot bird and we were wondering if you've seen it." She knelt down and showed the two kids the police sketch.

"Hey… We saw it while we were playing soccer yesterday!" Rock grabbed the paper.

"We think it's following us around, but we haven't seen it here yet," Roll said with a worried tone.

"Following you?" Gil straightened himself out. "What was it doing when you last saw it?"

Rock scratched his arm. "It was just staring right at us for some reason… It gave us bad vibes so we went back home."

"If it's following you guys around… Then it has to be here somewhere." Roslyn looked up to Gil.

"We'll have to keep a close eye on Light's bots then. Thanks, you two. You were a big help." Gil pocketed the sketch. "Let's go, Roslyn. The contest starts in five minutes and we need to guard the premises."

"Five minutes?! C'mon, Roll, we better hurry!" Rock held onto Roll's hand and began to run as fast as his little legs could take him, not wanting to miss any of his siblings.

* * *

Ice Man paced back and forth behind the curtains, nervous. He had practiced this speech for a while but didn't expect it to debut here of all places. Bomb Man placed a gentle hand on his brother's shoulder.

"What's wrong? You look like you're gonna be on a date with a shark, dude." Bomb chuckled softly, but Ice wasn't laughing.

"Now is not the time for jokes…" Ice Man sighed, "I just don't know what to do with my speech. I made it easy to understand, to-the-point, but I don't know if the audience will even listen to it…"

"Well, why don't you make it interesting with your Ice Slasher? Like, make ice statues with it. That adds some pizzazz! Anything's improved if you make it pretty!"

"Well, I'll take your word for it." Ice circled his shoulders, trying to loosen himself up.

"You two ready for your big debut?!" A voice came from behind the two Robot Masters. A tall man, with spiky gold hair and a nice suit.

"Hey, you're the mayor, right? Leonardo Dorado!" Bomb Man seemed excited. "What're you doing here?"

"I was chosen to be this year's announcer for the contest! I've heard of how impressive Dr. Light's robots are, but I never thought I'd get a chance to see it right here in person!"

"Dr. Light's really that popular?"

"Of course! He's won the contest three times in a row so far!"

"I've only heard of when he brought Rock and Roll to the contest… What were the first two times?" Ice Man asked.

"Well, the first time was with the big old boxy robot, Auto. That was the first taste of the modern A.I. The second time, it was a robot that was even more advanced… He passed the Turing Test, that's for sure!"

"Oh, Dr. Light mentioned him during his interview yesterday, but didn't give a name." Ice Man was really curious now.

"I forgot his name, it was like… Bruise? No, that can't be it… Uh… Clues? It's been a while since I've seen him or even heard about him…"

"Well, Light said he broke down because of his core. It must have ruined his I.C. chip if he hasn't ever come back." Bomb Man shrugged.

"It must be hard, losing a kid…" Dorado fixed his collar. "But now's not the time to think of the past! Now's the time to show everyone what you're made of!" He checked his watch. "One more minute!"

"Alright, places, everyone!" Dr. Light clapped his hands, with the other four Robot Masters standing behind him. "Are you all ready for what's coming up?"

"You bet we are!" Cut Man pumped his fists.

"We're not gonna disappoint you, pops!" Guts Man flexed his arm.

Dr. Light chuckled to himself. "Good, good!" He peeked out from behind the curtains, seeing Rock and Roll sitting right there in the front row. Rock waved and Roll smiled away, flapping her hands. "Everything's going to be okay…" Dr. Light told himself as the contest began.

"Ladies and gentlemen, and everyone else! Welcome to the LIT Manual Design Contest! I'm so excited to be announcing! How're we doing?!"

* * *

Gil stood in front of the stage, looking over at Roslyn. "I gotta say, I only expected a bunch of people who were probably new to this, but there's a lot of veterans… Dr. Lalinde, Dr. Astil, even Dr. Kouin…"

"Heh, I thought you weren't interested in robots and all that 'junk'." Roslyn snickered.

"S-Shut up, I just had to research them before we got here…"

"Now, our first contestant is our three-time winner of this contest, as well as the winner of the golden World Engineer Award and the Nobel Prize in Physics! Put your hands together for Doctor Thomas Light!"

Light walked out and bowed, the mayor handing him the microphone. "Thank you very much for having me here! It's a great honor to be-" His microphone started cutting out. "Huh?"

"Oh, dear…" Dorado walked up and took the microphone. "Bummer, h… We jus… ...ed and already we have te… ...al difficulties!"

"M-Mayor, look!" Dr. Light pointed up at the jumbotron, which was fading rapidly to static, sometimes with a strange man appearing on the screen.

That was Gil and Roslyn's cue to jump onto the stage. Before they knew it, a strange face appeared on-screen.

"Your attention, please! My name is Doctor Albert W. Wily! Don't know me? Why, that's not surprising, considering that Dr. Light stole the thunder that was rightfully mine!"

Gil took a megaphone out of his coat. "Attention, everyone! You have to evacuate! Please do so in an orderly manner! Do not panic!"

"Well, you heard the man, let's go! Go get Rock and Roll, Guts!" Cut Man bolted out the door that was backstage, along with the other Robot Masters, except for Guts Man.

"Right!" Guts Man jumped down, causing a tremor as he picked up his two siblings in the front row. "Sorry, kids, but we have to get out of here!"

"W-Wait, who is this Wily guy?! What's he talking about?!" Rock looked absolutely terrified, but then he looked over at Dr. Light… and he looked petrified out of his wits.

"Now, first on my agenda… Dr. Light! I'll be taking your robots!"

"L-Let go, Guts! I'm going to defend you!" Rock jumped down from Guts Man's arms.

"No, Rock! You're not strong enough-"

Dr. Wily came crashing through the ceiling in a flying saucer-type vehicle. It would have been comical had the situation been less dire. "That is to say… huh?"

"If you're gonna take my siblings, you're gonna have to get through me, Dr. Wily!" Rock spread his arms out

"You're joking, right…? You're just a kid! You think you can take me on?!" Dr. Wily laughed, "Nuha! Nuhahahahahahahahahahaha! Come then, give me your best shot!"

"ROCK, DON'T!" Dr. Light bolted forward and tried to grab onto his son, but Rock was too fast for him. Rock prepared for a big kick at that machine, and then when he got close enough…

Dr. Wily's vehicle sprouted a big mechanical hand and flicked the boy all the way onto the stage. It'd have been comical if the situation weren't so dire.

"Pathetic. You're powerless before me, boy!" Wily looked over at Guts Man. "You, your strength will be a valuable asset for my plans!" The hand reached over to the big robot.

"Roll, get out of here!" Guts Man put his sister down and tried to punch at the giant hand before it wrapped around him. He made an attempt to bust out of it, but sheer strength, even of his caliber, wasn't working for him. "Let me go, you maniac!"

"Now, where have the other ones gone?"

Dr. Wily began to float off in search of Dr. Light's other Robot Masters. Roll got up, tears overflowing, and ran up to Dr. Light. "D-Dad… What's going on?! Who was he?!"

"M-M-My… my children… th-th-th-they're…" Everything was happening all at once… Dr. Light's whole world began to spin before he collapsed on the stage…

"Sir!" Roslyn knelt down beside the Doctor and felt his pulse. "Oh, thank goodness… He just passed out." She lifted him up fireman style. "Gil, we need to get these kids home."

"Right…" He looked over at Rock and Roll. "You two, follow us."

* * *

"Al, please, you have to realize the risks it could have posed!"

"Thomas, nobody is going to take them seriously if they don't have the firepower to back it up!"

"But the strain could eventually ruin their systems if they use it willy-nilly! We have to at least give them the brainpower to manage such a system in the first place!" Tom tried to keep his cool.

"They aren't going to use it 'willy-nilly'! Just enough to put those who hurt them in their place!" Al pounded his fist into an open hand.

"Why is it always about hurting others with you?! I'm not saying they shouldn't be able to defend themselves, but why is it you think it's the huge determining factor on whether they're respected or not?!"

"It's what's right!" Al swung his head around.

"Might doesn't make right!" Tom got closer.

"LIGHT doesn't make right either!" Al's gaze narrowed.

"Y-You know what?!" Thomas opened the door. "J-Just go! We're through...!" Tears welled up in his eyes. "This clearly isn't working out..."

"Hmph. I'm glad we're in agreement." Albert began to pack everything he needed. All of his belongings, all of his blueprints… Those would be his company from now on.

"And I'm keeping Auto, too!"

"Of course you are! The ideas you like, you take, and the ideas you hate, you refuse to even acknowledge!" Albert stormed right out the door, slamming it behind him.

Thomas briskly walked to his desk, picking up the photograph of the two, and then took a matchbox out of the desk.

He took a match, lit it, and… he put it out. He couldn't bring himself to burn it. He made a huge mistake, didn't he? This was going to kill him for the rest of his life…

"Y-Yo, Light…?" Auto poked his head out from the kitchen.

"Auto, not now, I… I need to be alone…"

"Light, wake up!"

* * *

Dr. Light jolted awake on his bed, panting hard as he looked around him.

"Y'know, I can't be here to wake you up every time…" Auto was standing to his right. On his left, Rock and Roll were holding his hand, absolutely terrified for him.

"We're home… where's-" Dr. Light sat up.

"Excuse me, Dr. Light?" Gil walked in, pen and notepad in hand. "Call me Detective Gil. My partner Roslyn and I just need to ask you a few questions about this Dr. Wily guy and why he stole your robots…"

"So that wasn't a nightmare then? That was all… real?" Dr. Light began to cry again. "I'm a failure. I should have-"

"No, Dad, you're not!" Rock held his hand tighter.

"Now is not the time for regrets, Doctor. We need answers." Gil glared down at him.

"...Doctor Wily was my college roommate. That's all I'm willing to tell you on the personal side of things. As for why he's like this… It's my fault."

"Dad, no, it can't be!" Roll rubbed his shoulder.

"We attended the Robot Institute of Technology together. We got along fine, we created Auto together, and my ideas for robots with independent thought was chosen for research by the Robotics Ethics Committee.

"However, it came at the cost of canceling Wily's research. I had even agreed to Wily's research being shut down because of the potential strain it'd put on robots. Wily did not take kindly to it…

"If I hadn't kicked him out, if I had at least appealed to them to look into Wily's research, maybe none of this would have happened..."

"Dr. Light. You put the blame on yourself, but the way I see it, Wily's actions are his own. He's trying to take over the world right now, and we need your help." Gil's eyes showed a bit of sympathy, but more than that, it tried to inspire confidence.

"How could I ever help with this…?" Dr. Light shook his head.

"I want you to upgrade me and make me a fighting robot." Rock looked Dr. Light in the eyes as he said that.

"R-Rock…?"

"I know, this isn't a superhero movie… I'm putting myself in danger, I could be destroyed. But innocent people could die! I'm willing to risk my life in order to save those people and my siblings!" Rock held onto Dr. Light's hand, tightly.

"...Rock. Do you truly understand the task you're putting upon yourself?" Light's expression grew more serious.

"I do. But I trust you to make me strong-"

"It's not about strength. I'm speaking of your mind." Dr. Light pressed a finger on Rock's head. "You're still a child, Rock. Your mental A.I. is that of an eight-year-old. Any normal child your age would be traumatized to have to kill one of their own. Especially a sibling."

"That's…" Rock faltered but looked up. "It's not killing. Robots can come back. As long as I keep their I.C. chips intact, they'll be fine."

Roll grabbed Light's shoulder. "Please, dad, let him do this! Rock never says these things on a whim, he's smarter than that!"

Dr. Light looked the boy in the eyes and took a deep sigh. "I understand. I don't like it, but sometimes, such things have to be done. Please, come with me to the lab."

"Okay, dad!" Rock held onto Dr. Light's hand as they exited his room.

"Roslyn, I say we go back to the station. We've got enough information now." Gil closed his notepad.

* * *

"Here, this is what I want to look like." Rock handed Dr. Light a crayon drawing. A rather basic appearance, with blue armor, including a helmet, gloves, and boots, as well as the ability to turn his hands into arm cannons.

"I'll do my best to translate this into my blueprints."

Roll looked somewhat somber, tugging on Light's sleeve. "Dad… If Rock's going to get upgraded, I want to get upgraded too."

"I'm afraid you'll have to let Rock do this mission alone. Not because you aren't capable, mind you, but because making the blueprints and the upgrades will take an entire day together, and we don't have much time on our hands."

"Well, at least set up a communication line with him! We can't send him in blind."

"Of course, that's a good idea." Dr. Light laid Rock on a table. "This will require you to shut down while I get everything in your systems in order."

"Right, I'll be fine…" Rock nodded.

"Alright… Here we go." Dr. Light lifted Rock's hair, pressing on the back of his head in a certain way that caused it to open up, exposing a power dial. Dr. Light slowly turned it down.

Rock's eyes went dull, and he stopped moving…

* * *

**May 25, 20XX**

"Okay, Rock, you may wake up now."

"Hm…" His eyes lit up again as he lifted his arms and looked at his hands. "Whoa…!"

"It worked!" Dr. Light gave Rock a big hug, and was soon joined by Roll. "How do you feel, Rock? We worked very hard yesterday to try and get everything perfect!"

"I feel fine." Rock got up off the table.

"Now then, Rock… Or perhaps, we should give you a new name? It's not original, but maybe Rockman!" Dr. Light smiled.

"Well, that's better than the name I thought of. I was thinking…" Rock blushed. "Mega Man. I know, it sounds silly, like I'm copying Ultraman…"

"Actually, that name has a nice ring to it too! Mega Man, the defender of Mega City… it's perfect!"

"Really? Then… I'll use that name!" Mega Man brightened up.

"Then from now on, you shall be the Battle Rainbow Mega Man!"

"Battle Rainbow?" Mega Man tilted his head.

"Like the flag in dad's room!" Roll giggled.

"Well, kind of…" Dr. Light rubbed the back of his head. "What I mean is that you're able to copy the data chips that contain the Robot Masters' special abilities. It's called the Variable Weapon System. With those abilities, your armor and arm cannon, which we'll call the Mega Buster, will change shape and color!"

"Wow… That's so cool!" Mega Man smiled to himself. "Okay! Dr. Light, you should go get some sleep. You deserve it!"

"I'll talk to him over the comm line, that way he can get through without much incident!" Roll put on a headset with a microphone.

"Thank you, both of you… Just call me when you defeat a Robot Master. I'll rebuild them as best as I can." Dr. Light left for his bedroom.

"Now, we've got the coordinates for each of our siblings yesterday, and it took the whole day for the teleporter to ready them. They're each in different parts of the city. We've still yet to find Dr. Wily's base, but that will come after you get back the Robot Masters."

"Who should I get first?" Mega Man asked. Six robots, all with different abilities… It wasn't an easy choice.

"In my opinion, Bomb Man. He's a very predictable guy, and since his bombs go off on a fuse, you have enough time to get away from them before you get hurt."

"Then it's settled. I'm going to get Bomb Man back!" Mega Man stepped into the teleporter.

"Good luck, Mega! I'm rooting for you!" Roll pulled a lever to the side of her, activating the teleporter. "If you need us to bring you back, just say so. The teleportation engine inside you can link to you from anywhere!"

"Alright!" Mega Man stepped into the teleporter, and in a flash, he was taken to his destination.


	3. Bomb Man and Guts Man

**_THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN UPDATED!_**

* * *

Mega Man hit the ground, with a drone piloted by Roll teleporting in after. This was the road to Bomb Man, surrounded by tall buildings with spherical tops, unlike any that Mega Man had seen before.

"This is an old bomb manufacturing facility, it's only fitting Bomb Man's here." Roll spoke through the communication line. "There are multiple Flea-type robots ahead. They bounce everywhere and are absolute pests, so be careful!"

"Right… Let's rock!" Mega Man ran forward, his hand turning into his Mega Buster. Aiming at the Fleas, he fired several blasts of energy at them, taking them out instantly. "Wow… What was that?"

"They're Solar Bullets! Compressed balls of solar energy, like what you run on!"

"Nifty." Mega Man jumped across a gap before a bomb popped out and exploded above him, raining down harmful shrapnel. "WAH!"

* * *

Roslyn sighed and opened the door, exiting the apartment complex before looking over at Gil.

"Still nothing?" Gil asked.

"Still nothing," Roslyn replied, "I don't want to sound like you, but I swear that some of these people are misleading us."

"I don't blame you. With what's going on right now, I think people are starting to feel like the Emerald Spears are justified."

The Emerald Spears, a notorious anti-technology domestic terrorist group, as if America didn't already have enough domestic terrorist groups. They hate robots the most, becoming overly-paranoid about them replacing humans and taking over the world.

"Well, let's move on. We can't let them get away…" Gil cracked his neck before fixing his posture, looking to his side.

A peculiar man walked out of the alleyway. Six feet tall, shabbily-dressed, and scruffy as well. He was rather suspicious…

"Excuse me, sir? We need to ask you a few questions." Roslyn walked up behind him.

"What are you, cops?" The man had immediate aggression in his voice, turning around to look at them. "Piss off- Oh. Oh ho ho..." He immediately smiled. "Now you, you are just…" He walked towards the two.

"Please God, I just want to get this over with…" Roslyn closed her eyes and reached for her stun pistol, this man was about to come onto her… Except, he walked right past her and looked up at Gil.

"You doing anything later?"

"Yes." Gil was a bit slow on the uptake, thinking that was a legitimate question.

"...Ah. Alright then." The scruffy man turned to go back into the alley but was blocked by Roslyn.

"First, sir… We need to ask you about the Emerald Spears." Roslyn glared at him.

"Oh, those bastards? One of them was pestering one of my robot buddies and I went in to defend him, and then she pointed an effin' gun at my head!"

"'She'? What did she look like?" Gil pulled out a paper containing the mugshots of each member.

"She was white, she had orange hair and green eyes… She wasn't remarkable at all; if she didn't almost kill me I would have forgotten her existence."

"Hm… Looks like we got one Simone Miller on our hands."

"Of course, it had to be her. Watch as she pulls the 'we used to date' excuse on us again." Roslyn spat on the sidewalk. She and Simone had some… history.

"So, speaking of dates," the man looked up at Gil. "You sure you don't have any free time later?"

"I just said I don't. Tell me your name and give me your number so we can at least keep in touch if you find any more details relating to the Emerald Spears."

"Alright, alright… My name's Osric Hirono." He wrote his phone number down on Gil's notepad.

"Osric? Like that guy who interviewed Light before the LIT contest?"

"_He's_ Oswald Richardson, _I'm_ Osric Hirono. I can assure you, we aren't the same. Just call me Ozzy if you have to."

"Alright, Ozzy… Have a good rest of your day." Gil went back to the police car.

"As good a day as a homeless human could have…" Ozzy walked back into the alleyway.

"...So did you not realize he was hitting on you or were you purposefully trying to ignore that fact?" Roslyn sat on the passenger's side.

"Wait, he was?" Gil seemed confused.

"Ugh… romantically-speaking, you're hopeless, you know that?" Roslyn leaned back. "You should really give him the time, you could use a date."

"Excuse-" Gil shook his head. "Never mind, maybe once he comes up with a better pickup line, I'll date him."

"Well, don't hold your breath for that to happen."

* * *

Mega Man climbed up a ladder to the next level of the facility. "How much further, Roll?"

"That was just the start of it, you'll have to go up another story before you get there." She turned the drone away from Mega Man. "Look out!"

A few bullets got shot by Mega Man's feet, but he jumped backward. He looked up to see a green robot with a shield and an arm cannon. "What is that?!"

"I think I saw something similar to that thing in one of Dr. Light's blueprints… According to the drone's scanners, it's called a Sniper Joe!" Roll flew the drone higher. "You won't be able to penetrate its shield, so wait for it to shoot before attacking!"

Mega Man watched carefully… He began hopping side-to-side, waiting for the right moment…

The Sniper Joe lowered its shield and shot out three more bullets. Mega Man took a running start and leaped over the bullets, firing as fast as he could before it was taken out.

"You did it! Now, just keep going forward!"

"Bomb Man, please, hang in there…" Mega Man looked forward before several missiles with large, toothy grins appeared. "More of these, huh? Easy!" Mega Man fired at one of the missiles, but that proved to be disadvantageous, as it exploded and knocked back the Blue Bomber.

"Mega Man! Are you okay?!" Roll panicked.

"I-I'll live…" He got up.

* * *

Dr. Wily sat at his computer, looking at the video camera footage of the bomb-making facility. "Hmph… Who is that robot? And how's that brat getting through Bomb Man's defenses so easily?"

"He looks like that housekeeping robot that Dr. Light had!" Reggae opened his loud beak.

"No, that can't be…" Wily looked closer. "Mother of Tesla… It is that housekeeper! What did Light do to him?! He turned him into a little war machine!"

"Well, to be fair, sir-"

"Reggae, whatever you're about to say, don't." Wily picked up his microphone. "Attention, my robots! You have a new course of action! If you are to encounter DLN-001… Neutralize him!"

* * *

Mega Man finally got to the final stretch. "Just down this ladder?"

"Yeah, Bomb Man will be in the room at the bottom." Roll piloted her drone carefully. "There's several Octo Batteries down there. You have to time your climbing just right-"

"HUP!" Mega Man threw all caution to the wind as he jumped down, narrowly avoiding every Octo Battery in his way.

"MEGA!" Roll held onto the keyboard. "YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE MY CORE SHORT CIRCUIT!"

"Sorry." Mega Man landed on his feet in the bottom room, looking around. "Bomb Man? Where are you?"

No response. Not even a sound. Except for that ticking noise…

"Huh?" Mega Man looked around, but couldn't see anything.

That was until the bomb dropped from the ceiling.

"O-Oh no!" Mega Man braced himself for the explosion. The bomb's timer went off, and it burst into… confetti?

"Did I spook ya?" Bomb Man giggled as he also dropped from the ceiling. "You don't know how excited I was to see ya, Rock!"

"B-Bomb Man?" Mega Man was confused. Bomb Man was acting like his usual self. Maybe he could reason with him? "Come on, let's go home!"

Bomb Man's smile faltered a bit, and he stayed silent.

"Dad is worried about you. So's Roll. Please, come home with me!"

Bomb Man walked up and put an arm around Mega Man's shoulders. "Rock, listen… Has dad ever told you the truth of my job?"

"Wait, what do you-"

"I'm not officially part of the demolition crew. Shocker, right? There's a huge vetting process for them to decide if it'd be 'safe' to let me join the crew. And once they decide I'm safe, they have to make a petition to allow me to join officially.

"Then, there has to be a big-ass process filled with legal bullcrap. And even after all that, the mayor, the lawmakers, I don't know frickin' _anything_ about how it works, but they can just **veto** it, thus meaning **I can't do the one thing I was made for.**

"You know I love dad, but as a scientist, he's moving along _too_ slowly, y'know? All the red tape we've had to cut through in the past _just_ so I could be built, and the red tape we'll have to cut through now to do what I was built to do… I'm gonna be outmoded by the time I finally join for real.

"I can't wait around any longer. Wily told me I know best how to use my explosives and… that's so _liberating;_ nobody telling me how I get to do the one thing I was built for.

"You've always wanted to be a superhero, didn't you? And just how long did it take for dad to finally give you your wish?"

Mega Man tried to keep his cool. This wasn't the Bomb Man he knew. Sure, he talked like Bomb Man and acted like Bomb Man, but deep down, he just wasn't Bomb Man.

"Dad upgraded me so that I could save you and the others. I don't want to make this painful, Bomb Man. Please, come back to us!" Mega Man opened his arms.

"W-What?! No! This is my chance to finally do things _my way!_ Dad can't fight the laws! Nobody's going to let me do anything because I'm a robot!" Bomb Man began to panic. "Humans just want to stifle us! Dad's trying the best he can, but nobody's going to take me seriously unless I _make them_ take me seriously!"

Bomb Man pulled out one of his Hyper Bombs. "You think I'm gonna just let you take away what I wanted for so long?! **Then you're going to have to drag my corpse back to Dad first!"**

"I- I don't want to hurt you, Bomb Man!" Mega Man backed up with his Mega Buster at the ready.

_**"The feeling is NOT MUTUAL!"**_ Bomb Man hurled the bomb towards Mega Man.

The bomb nearly hit Mega Man's face, but he avoided it as he shot back at Bomb Man. The punk went for a running headbutt, but Mega Man leaped over him before shooting him several more times.

Mega Man's eyes were starting to go blurry… This wasn't like fighting Fleas or Sniper Joes. He was fighting a family member. He was hurting his own brother.

Mega Man was starting to lose focus… Bomb Man took this opportunity to roll a Hyper Bomb towards him, bowling ball-style.

"Ah-" Mega Man had only been firing mindlessly, not noticing the bomb until it detonated near him. He was flung back into a wall, pain shooting through his body.

"Go home, Rock! Wily gave me the ability to defend my freedom! Dad gave you a costume change and a peashooter!"

Mega Man got back on his feet. The pain brought him back to reality. He had to focus, he had to…

In a stroke of bravery, Mega Man charged at Bomb Man and knocked him to the ground, pinning his arms to the ground.

"This isn't very punk rock of you!" Mega Man blurted out.

Bomb Man's eyes glazed over. That trick still worked on him, it seems.

Mega Man continued, "Hurting others isn't the answer! If you want them to take you seriously, then do what you do as best and as safely as you can, and the mean people can stuff it! I, Dad, Roll, we all believe in you, Bomb Man!" He wrapped his arms around Bomb Man

But Bomb Man threw him off. "Don't you get it?! The 'mean people' decide whether I _LIVE_ or **DIE!**" Bomb Man took another bomb and was winding up for a big throw at Mega Man.

The boy looked up from the ground. He had no choice.

Mega Man aimed his Mega Buster at the Hyper Bomb, shooting his solar bullet directly at it while it was still in Bomb Man's hand.

The Hyper Bomb exploded in a flash that was much too bright to even be caught on camera. The sound of metal melting and wires being fried were the only sounds that could be heard after the kaboom.

When Mega Man's vision adjusted, he could see that Bomb Man's entire arm had been blown off, as well as the left half of his head and chest. What was left of Bomb Man's face was frozen in shock.

However, even with such a powerful explosion, Bomb Man's integrated circuit chip was still intact, protected by an incredibly strong casing, a safety precaution implemented by Dr. Light himself.

Mega Man tried to calm himself down, but… he did that. To his brother.

"M-Mega Man?" Roll had just looked up from the keyboard to talk to him.

Mega Man held onto the hand that remained on Bomb Man's body. "Bring me back to the lab."

* * *

Mega Man was teleported back, shivering a little bit. "How do I copy the data chip?"

"Oh, it's simple." Roll dragged the broken bot to the repair table before opening up his wrist, exposing the data chip. "There's a slot in your Mega Buster that you put it in."

Mega Man nodded and did as he was told. Suddenly, his Mega Buster turned into a much larger cannon. His armor turned yellow, orange, and black like Bomb Man himself was, and even had a mohawk sprout on his head. "Whoa…"

"I'll go get dad." She ran off, leaving Mega Man alone with his broken brother.

"I have to do this," Rock said to himself, "Even if I don't want to, it's better than innocents getting hurt. As long as the I.C. Chip is still intact, Dad can bring them back." The pain of maiming his brother was still there, but it was much more bearable as Mega Man talked to himself.

"Alright, let's see here…" Dr. Light entered the lab and looked down at Bomb Man. "This looks worse than it actually is. I'll just need to fix his shell and his circuitry." Dr. Light pulled the I.C. chip out of Bomb Man's head. "Plug this into the computer for me, Rock?"

"Yes, sir." Doing as he was told, Mega Man looked over at Dr. Light. "Who do I face next?"

"Our next course of action is to get Guts Man back. He's high up in the mountains right now, so you'll have to be careful."

"R-Right… careful…" Mega Man was never good with heights.

Dr. Light sat down at the computer and checked the I.C. chip's data. It was, for the most part, unchanged, except for two bits:

Bomb Man's loyalty was changed to Dr. Wily, and his roboethics had been changed so that he could defy human orders (save for Wily's) and be able to attack humans without needing to consult another human. Doctor Light had to revert those changes.

The next step was to make sure his kid was alright during the repair process. Putting on his own headset, Dr. Light brought up another program that would allow him to communicate with Bomb Man while his I.C. chip was plugged in.

"Can you hear me?" He stood up and got to work on repairing Bomb Man's body.

"...Am I in trouble…?" Bomb Man was much quieter than normal.

"No, Bomb Man, you aren't." Dr. Light's voice was gentle and comforting.

"I mean, I said all those things…" Bomb Man sounded like he was about to cry.

"What things? I'm sorry, I was asleep at the time."

"About how you worked too slow, about how I was going to be outdated by the time you got everything about my job sorted out, I was just so mad at the time..."

"I sincerely apologize for that." Dr. Light swallowed a lump in his throat. "But I promise, we'll get through it together. I could bring it up with the mayor myself. I just hope everyone understands the circumstances right now."

"...Dad, when I wake up, I can't wait to hug you."

Dr. Light put his tools down. "Darn it, Bomb Man, you can't make me cry while I'm repairing you!"

"Alright, I'm ready." Mega Man took a few deep breaths, preparing himself for the tall mountain of terror that he'd have to make his trek through to get to Guts Man.

"Good luck, Mega Man." Dr. Light pulled the lever for the teleporter, sending his son to his destination.

* * *

The mountain looked like it was crumbling all around. Fitting, as Guts Man was a robot made for land development.

"This doesn't look too bad." Mega Buster out, our hero ran forward to the big stairs in front of him, with conspicuously-placed helmets… Suddenly, a small face popped out from one of the helmets and shot three pellets out of its mouth at Mega Man.

"Whoa!" Mega Man rolled to the side before shooting at the new robot. However, he hit its helmet, which his solar bullets bounced right off of.

Roll put her headset back on. "Metalls… They're supposed to be helpful robots, but these have been modified to attack."

"Well, these things are less annoying than the Sniper Joes at least." Mega Man waited for the Met to pop out before shooting, instantly taking it out. "This isn't bad at all!" Mega Man gained a little bit of confidence as he jumped up the stairs and took out each of the Mets that got in his way.

"Oh, you haven't gotten to the part where you could fall yet."

"...The what?" Mega Man looked ahead before stopping dead in his tracks. Several lifts were moving back and forth across a huge gap.

A fall from this height could destroy Mega Man, and not helping was that two of the lifts sometimes opened up to drop whatever steps onto them down to their doom.

"Deep breaths, Mega Man. Memorize the pattern and jump carefully."

"Right…" He tried to keep his breathing steady as he jumped onto the first lift. Easy enough. Then he looked at the second lift, which had a fall in the middle and the end.

He was starting to panic a bit more. "Breath, breathe…" He took a deep breath in, and a deep breath out. He had to do this. He couldn't let his acrophobia get the best of him at this crucial time.

"Jump!" He bounced onto the second lift, jumping in time with the points it dropped at. His breathing was like an autumn leaf in the wind.

But the third lift was right under him, and it looked like every other part of it had a drop. He couldn't delay it anymore. He jumped onto the third lift, leaping desperately whenever it flopped down.

At the very end, Mega Man took a big jump onto the next part of the mountain. Finally, he could take a breather.

"You did great, Mega Man! You just have to keep going from here, no more lethal drops from here on out!"

"A-Alright…" He got up on his shaky legs before sprinting forward. "Let's do this!"

* * *

On the streets of Mega City, a lone robot wandered down the sidewalk. Aimless, he ran the strap of his duffel bag between his fingers, looking in storefront windows, and trying to avoid odd stares.

He meandered by an alleyway when he saw something move in the corner of his eye. A stray tabby cat.

"Heyyy!" He called, making kissy noises and trying to beckon the cat closer. It jumped further down.

He removed his duffel bag, intending to follow when a bell sounded from a nearby Electric Pizza. A certain scruffy stranger walked out with three boxes of the stuff, looking rather disgruntled. They tossed a slice into the alley and the cat picked at the cheese, hungry.

"Yo- you know whose cat this is?" He asked, putting his duffel bag back on.

"Just a stray, I've checked. I call him Lucky." The scruffy man laid back and pet the tabby.

"Cats always run from me…" The robot leaned against the wall with the stranger.

"You gotta feed them and stuff like that, strays will warm up to you eventually. Ferals are bastards and they'll never really get over their wild nature."

"You know a lot… How long would it take?"

"'Know a lot'? You're giving me too much credit, kid. I just only have tiny bits of experience from my mom owning cats before she just… disappeared."

"Really? Do you know where she is?"

"I wouldn't say she disappeared if I knew. Ever since the day I was activated she was just gone."

"Activated?"

"Well, the cat's out of the bag, so to speak." He looked around to see if there were any eavesdroppers. "I'm a robot. Around humans, my name is Osric Hirono. But as a robot, I'm DHN-000 Shoegaze."

"...What kind of name is that?"

"What's your name, kid?"

"...Blues."

"We're both robots named after music genres." Shoegaze took one of the pizza slices out of the box and scarfed it down.

"I didn't even know you were a robot at first…" Blues adjusted his sunglasses. "What were you made for?"

"I was just made to be as close to a human as I could be. To be my creator's son."

"...I-" Blues opened his mouth but shut it immediately.

"You were made for the same purpose?" Shoegaze looked over at him.

"Wh-"

"You said 'I-' in that 'I'm the same as you' way. Who made you?"

"...I don't want to talk about it." Blues looked down.

"Then I'm not gonna pry." Shoegaze fiddled with his long, wavy hair.

"I should really get going now…" Blues picked up his duffle bag and exited the alleyway.

Shoegaze let Lucky onto his lap. "I have a feeling we'll be meeting again. Not like there're many places for homeless robots to go in this hellhole, after all."

What a peculiar guy… Blues briskly walked away. Part of him didn't want to be caught dead with Shoegaze, but the other part of him felt like he's going to be a close ally, even if not a friend.

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAH!" Mega Man ran under the Big Eye and sprinted to the last corridor. Something like that would definitely end him if it landed on him. "That was close…" Taking out each of the Mets that blocked his way, he made his way to the final door. Nothing but a pile of huge blocks… But Mega Man knew better than to think this was it.

"Guts Man? I'm here to take you home." Mega Man equipped the Hyper Bomb, taking a deep breath as he mentally prepared himself for the ensuing fight.

The blocks began to rumble as a big yellow fist punched them all to bits. Guts Man burst out from under the blocks, but his face was not that of a berserker like one would expect, but a face of absolute terror.

"W-What are you doing here?!" Guts Man stammered, "Don't you know that only workers belong here?! Go home before you get hurt, Rock!"

"I don't want you to get hurt, either, Guts Man… That's why I'm asking you to come home with me."

"I can't! Don't you know why I'm here right now?! I don't want to hurt anyone! Dr. Wily gave me orders to neutralize you if I saw you, but… I don't have it in me! I don't want to be a killing machine! That's why I'm excavating this mountain! So that everyone can be safe from me!"

"Guts Man…" Mega Man opened his arms. "Dad will make everything better, please, just come home with me and-"

"My I.C. chip is ruined! Pops can't fix me! I'll only hurt him and everyone else if I leave here!" Guts Man stomped up and down, like a child throwing a tantrum. The resulting tremors knocked Mega Man off of his feet.

"T-That can't be true! If that's how you're going to be, I'll have to take you back by force!" Mega Man tried to get up and aim a Hyper Bomb at the big robot.

"FINE! You made me do this!" Guts Man jumped up and landed so hard that a huge chunk of the cave's ceiling fell into his hand.

"W-Wah!" Mega Man fired the cannon. A Hyper Bomb rolled at Guts Man's feet before exploding, knocking the giant back.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Guts Man threw the boulder right at Mega Man, who slid under it before firing another bomb at him. He was a tough robot, but even the Hyper Bomb was leaving noticeable dents in his armor.

"I'm sorry, Guts… It's for the best…" He fired one last Hyper Bomb at his chest, the location of his core. In the resulting explosion, Guts Man was blown back into the wall behind him, unconscious.

"It's so much easier with the weapons..." Sighing with relief, Mega Man held onto Guts Man before he was teleported back to the lab.


	4. Cut Man, Barga Man, Power Man

_**THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN UPDATED!**_

* * *

Placing Guts Man on the repair table, Mega Man removed the data chip from his arm and inserted it into the slot in his Mega Buster.

His armor turned the same colors as Guts Man's armor, with his helmet extending around his mouth much like Guts Man's underbite. His Mega Buster doubled in diameter with a giant mechanical hand growing out of it. "The Super Arm…"

"With it, you can lift very heavy loads with just one hand!" Dr. Light finished repairing Bomb Man's shell before reinserting his I.C. chip.

"Who next?" Mega Man leaned up against one of the tables, with a rather dull expression. Perhaps he had gotten adjusted to his situation.

"Next, you'll have to fight Cut Man. He never liked Rock Paper Scissors… Rock beats scissors, after all." Light snickered and turned Bomb Man's power dial on. "But before you go, come see Bomb Man."

"Oh, right!" Mega Man immediately lit up. He ran over and bounced a little bit, excited to see his brother again…

Bomb Man's eyes flickered open, looking to his side before looking at Dr. Light. "HUGS!" He flipped over and almost tackled his father into a hug.

"Whoa! Easy there, tiger!" Dr. Light patted him on the back.

"It's so good to be back…" Bomb Man turned around and hugged Mega Man. "Thank you so much, Rock! I hope I didn't hurt you too bad…"

"Not at all!" Mega Man grimaced, trying to hide the sting of that Hyper Bomb from earlier. "I'm just glad you're okay! Now you just gotta work on Guts Man, right?"

"Yes, him next. Armor replacement should be easy, but it's his solar core that I'm worried about. I might have to replace it entirely."

"I can help out if you need me to!" Bomb Man leaned against the table Guts Man was laid down on. "I promise I won't cause much trouble."

"Of course, Bomb!" Dr. Light smiled and removed Guts Man's I.C. chip to fix his programming. "Just go get me the blueprints and we can get started."

"By the way, where's Roll?" Bomb Man opened up the drawer filled to the brim with robot schematics.

"Right here!" Roll entered the room wearing a jacket. "I'm going to the scrapyard to get rid of the broken parts from repairing you. I might also collect more scraps for that bird robot I've been working on..."

"Oh, that reminds me! I have something for you, Roll." Dr. Light went over to the closet and pulled out a broom.

"Uh… why this?" She took it, a little confused.

"It's not just a broom, it's also a concealed energy weapon! Right in the middle of the broomstick is a sword, and in the broom's head, there's a spear."

Roll checked, and it was as he said. "Wow…"

"It's dangerous out there, what with Wily, the Emerald Spears, so many other things… I wanted to give you this since I'm unable to upgrade you as of now." Dr. Light went to the computer and plugged in Guts Man's I.C. chip.

"Thanks, Dad! I'll be careful, I promise!" Roll exited the room to go get her bicycle.

Mega Man gave a short sigh. "I wish she was out there fighting with me… We're almost halfway done. If she helped me, we'd have them all saved by now!"

"Unfortunately, it's too long of a process, and we have very little time as it is. But perhaps, when this is all over, we could upgrade her too." Dr. Light picked up his headset.

"That'd be great…" Mega Man smiled to himself.

Dr. Light turned to face the computer, speaking into his headset. "Guts Man?"

"Pops? That you…?" Guts Man responded in a quiet voice.

"You had been very… to call you hysterical would be an understatement. You were talking about how your I.C. chip was ruined and how I wouldn't be able to fix you. Did Dr. Wily tell you that?" Light scratched his beard.

"W-Well, I…" Guts Man sounded embarrassed. "To be honest… It was because I was ordered to hurt Rock. I'm not the most gentle robot out there, and being told to hurt my own family… I just broke down."

"Are you still afraid of coming back online because of that?" Light leaned forward.

"I mean, I accidentally squished everyone in this house at least once…" Guts Man looked away.

"Let me tell you something. Your A.I. is made to mimic a human mind. Humans are flawed. All of them, even me. But that's okay. You can be a bit rough sometimes, but that flaw is what makes you human. We do not begrudge you for that." Dr. Light smiled. "Am I clear?"

"Yeah… Thanks, pops." Guts Man smiled gently.

"Hey, if there are any parts you wanna get rid of, now's the time! I'm not gonna make another trip to the scrapyard until tomorrow!" Roll called from outside as she rang her bike's bell.

"It's time for me to repair your shell, then. I'll see you when you wake up." Dr. Light stood up

"Alright, pops!"

* * *

Mega Man was teleported to Cut Man's location. "A lumber facility. Of course… What's the situation?" He trotted forward, climbing up a ladder to the outside.

"Well, there's going to be a lot of climbing involved…" Dr. Light took over for the comm line, the drone was now on autopilot. "Just be careful not to fall, and you should be fine."

"Got it." Mega Man jumped over one of the various big blocks strewn about before shooting down the Bunby Helis that flew towards him. "This'll be a piece of cake!"

* * *

The scrapyard wasn't too far from Dr. Light's residence. Roll chained her bike to the wire fence along the entrance and picked up the buckets of broken armor and parts using the stick of her broom.

There were so many parts laying around in the scrapyard. Some were rusty from all the time they spent outside, some seemed broken beyond repair, and some were in perfect condition! Roll was excited, but something felt… off…

...Was that a hand sticking out from one of the scrap heaps?

Carefully, she approached it, her broom in-hand. She poked the appendage with the broomstick and its fingers twitched. Whoever was under there was still alive!

Roll knelt down, shuffling all sorts of scraps out of the way and pulling on the arm of whoever it was in hopes of dragging them out.

But quickly, her emotions turned to terror.

From the fingers, long metal claws jutted out in the blink of an eye, millimeters away from Roll's face. From the refuse, a Robot Master slowly emerged. His armor was entirely silver metal, one of his eyes was pure red.

"My next strike will not miss you." His voice was cold and monotone, his other hand growing its own claws.

"Who are you?!" Roll took her broom in hand and backed off.

"I am designated as Special Wily Number 00A, Barga Man. I was built for the express purpose of taking out all of Doctor Light's robots before they can cause him any trouble in the future."

"I never thought I'd have to use this so soon, but…" Roll was about to unsheath her concealed sword, but then a loud revving noise came from the wall of scrap metal behind her.

"Exterminate her, Special Wily Number 00B Power Man."

A big Guts Man-esque robot burst out from the debris. He had a chainsaw built into one hand, which he immediately swung down at Roll.

"Yyyyikes-" She jumped backward, the chainsaw barely missing her as she swept up dust using her broom.

"Visual capabilities inhibited…" Barga Man tried to wave all the dust away, but Roll kept on sweeping before running off.

"Okay, I have to come up with a plan," Roll whispered to herself, "Fighting them both at the same time is hazardous to my health… Chainsaw guy has to go first."

* * *

Mega Man stretched out. All that climbing was making him tired… But in no time at all, several scissors shot out at him. He just couldn't catch a break!

"H-How much longer, Dr. Light?" Mega Man ran as fast as his legs could allow him, shooting down several Fleas after he got away from the menacing scissor shooter.

"Just a bit further, there's another series of ladders, and then you'll have to go down instead of up." It was hard for the good doctor to pay attention to the screen while working on repairing Guts Man at the same time, but he was trying his best.

"Hey old man, where do you keep the cores?" Bomb Man was just tossing things out of the closet every which way.

"It's in a box labeled as such, you can't miss it…"

"Well, apparently I've been missing it because I can't find it!"

"You'll see it eventually…" Light's patience was wearing thin, but he vowed to never get mad at his children.

"How tall does a lumber facility have to be…? My arms feel like they're going to fall off…" Mega Man sat down against one of the walls.

"We can always bring you back, Mega Man… If you need to rest, please, don't hesitate to tell me."

"B-But I have to save Cut Man…! I have to stop him from doing anything he'll regret!" Mega Man got up and saw there were even more ladders. This time, Octo Batteries were flying every which way. "I'll be careful, I promise!"

"Okay, but if it turns out you can't handle it, I'll bring you back here."

"Right." Mega Man climbed up the first ladder, shooting down the Octo Batteries that flung themselves towards him.

* * *

Roll ran into a path that split in two. She bolted down the right path, trying to see if she could put her strategy into action...

"Okay, let's see…" There was a big tire truck. Roll was small, but she was still stronger than a human. She slung the tire around her shoulders as she climbed up one of the mountains of scrapped parts.

Now, she had to play the waiting game.

"We must split up… Search that path, Power Man." Barga Man's voice still had that cold tone to it. The heavy footsteps of Power Man could be heard even from as far as Roll was.

The girl had shuffled all the trash that laid around her so that she could better blend in. She heard those footsteps grow louder and louder… It was her chance! She just had to-

The screech of metal shredding metal pierced Roll's ears as Power Man plunged his chainsaw into the mountain of garbage that she had been laying upon in waiting. It was now or never. Roll forcefully pushed the tire down the mountain, directly at Power Man.

Power Man pulled his saw arm out and swung downward at the tire. It got sliced into two, like a hot knife through butter. Nothing could stop that saw…

But Power Man had not anticipated that Roll would be plunging right at him with her energy sword unsheathed. She swung it to the side, right across Power Man's neck, slicing his head clean off.

"Misdirection never fails!" Roll picked up the metal behemoth's head, opening it up to search for his I.C. chip to bring home with her.

* * *

After another round of dangerous climbing, Mega Man tried to run past the next scissor-shooting machine but ended up getting hit square in the shoulder. Hissing in pain, tears rolled down his eyes as he shot down the Bunby Helis that appeared before him.

"I… I can't do this…" Mega Man's energy was running too low for this. He was almost done for.

"Okay, I'm activating the teleporter, I'll bring you back-" Dr. Light was utterly worried about Mega Man, but… "Hey, what's that over there?"

"Huh? What are you-" Mega Man was about to go down the ladder, but he turned around and saw a big yellow capsule at the end of a small hallway just slightly below the ladder.

"Just what I needed! An energy capsule!" Mega Man smiled brightly as he ran to grab it. Plugging it into his Mega Buster, he could feel the solar energy recharge him. "I can do this! Don't worry about me!"

"What was that just doing there?" Dr. Light chuckled nervously. "Well, never mind, you're able to keep going?"

"Yeah, I'm going to get Cut Man back, pronto!" Mega Man climbed down the ladder. This was the final stretch before he could get to his next sibling.

Two Flying Shells appeared and tried to shoot Mega Man into the spikes below him, but he dodged each of them like a champ.

Down on the bottom level again, a Big Eye appeared and tried to stomp him down. Mega Man equipped the Super Arm, reaching for the blocks behind him and throwing them one-by-one at the giant fiend. "Almost there…!"

Getting past the final corridor, Mega Man stepped into the final room of the facility. "Cut Man! Where are you?" Mega Man looked around, but all he could see were big logs, cleanly cut, placed all around the room.

A big pair of scissors flew in and chopped all of those logs down as the orange boy jumped in. The scissors boomeranged back onto Cut Man's head. This was the power of the Rolling Cutter.

"I… I didn't want to believe in Dr. Wily…" Cut Man spoke sorrowfully. "But he was right… Dr. Light turned you into a machine for war!"

"Huh? What are you talking about, Cut Man?" Mega Man was confused. He knew he couldn't talk Cut Man out of this, but he decided to listen to what he had to say anyway.

"What kind of 'hero' are you?! Destroying everything in an attempt to save the world… That's the very definition of hypocrisy!"

"You've got it all wrong, Cut Man…" Mega Man stood tall. "I only attack when I have to. To save my own life… or the lives of others. And right now, I'll have to fight you to save you. I don't want to hurt you, but… Such things have to be done." Mega Man equipped the Super Arm.

"Fine! Even if it cuts me apart, I'm going to make you good again!" Cut Man's scissors snipped rapidly as he jumped back towards the wall. He gripped them and threw them right at the Blue Bomber.

"He really did blind you to morality…" Mega Man dodged the Rolling Cutter and picked up one of the two huge blocks laying around. With all his might, he chucked it right at Cut Man. "Rock beats scissors!"

"What the f- AAAH!" It was a direct hit. Cut Man flopped right onto the ground, struggling to get up. "Why'd Dr. Wily think this was a good place to put me…?" Cut Man stood up on wobbly legs and tried to focus.

"Sorry, Cut Man, but I gotta get you back to Dr. Light!" Mega Man picked up the second block and took careful aim… and then he threw it right at Cut Man.

"HAH!" Suddenly, Cut Man sprang up into the air. He nimbly dodged that block like it was nothing. "Now who's beating Rock, huh?!"

"Uh… paper?" Mega Man had to come up with a plan quickly.

"Take this!" Cut Man tossed his Rolling Cutter once more. Mega Man tried his best to dodge it as it came at him both ways, but the second time, it grazed his cheek.

Then Mega Man thought… maybe he could punch out Cut Man. With all the Rock Paper Scissors metaphors, the rock being a fist, it might be stupid enough to work.

Mega Man de-equipped the Super Arm and looked at his hand. "Looks like I'll have to bust out my special technique!"

"W-What?! No!" Cut Man braced himself. He thought Mega Man was about to pull a Guts Man on him and left himself open.

Mega Man looked at his hand and began to charge it with solar energy using the buster's shooting function. With his hand blocking the bullets, they were contained within his hand, which started glowing yellow and blue.

"Mega…" Mega Man ran towards Cut Man. "UPPER!" In true superhero fashion, Mega Man called out the new attack's name and gave Cut Man a big solar-charged uppercut.

"DAMMIT!" Cut Man was hit so hard, his head whipped back and caused him to flip through the air before smacking against the wall, knocked out.

"Holy cow… That worked!" Mega Man flexed a little bit. "Okay, let's bring him back!" Mega Man held onto Cut Man's shoulders as he was teleported back to the lab.

* * *

"I… Truth be told, I didn't know what would happen if you tried firing your Mega Buster while your hand was in place." Dr. Light had just been staring at the drone's video feed with his jaw agape until Mega Man said to bring him back to the lab.

"Well, stuff like this is meant to be tested." Mega Man smiled and placed Cut Man on a repair table. "Maybe I was just meant to discover my own techniques." He was so proud of himself.

"DUDE, THAT WAS TOTALLY SICK!" Bomb Man plugged in Guts Man's new core.

"I must say, to try new things and go beyond what one's capabilities are thought to be… You're amazing, Mega Man." Dr. Light patted Mega Man on the head.

"Aw, Dad…" Mega Man was beaming.

"Okay, let's get Guts Man online now…" Dr. Light closed his chestplate before turning the big robot on.

After Guts Man's diagnostics were finished, he slowly sat up and yawned. "Heya pops." He got up and gave Dr. Light a big hug.

"Good to see you again, Guts Man!" Dr. Light smiled and hugged him back.

"Hey, where's Roll? She'd normally be back by now…" Mega Man looked around.

"Maybe she hit the motherload today. That or she's finding nothing but won't give up." Bomb Man snickered.

"I do hope she's okay, though…" Dr. Light sighed. "In the meantime… Mega Man, you did well today. I think you should rest now, your systems are most likely strained beyond what's normal for you."

"I know, but…" Mega Man looked over at Cut Man. "At least let me help you out before I charge."

* * *

Roll knew she had to find Barga Man. Even if she could escape right now, she couldn't let that Robot Master hurt anyone else, especially not her family. With Power Man down, this should be a cakewalk for her.

The sound of Barga Man's claws scratching metal rang out. Roll held on tightly to her spear. This was it…

Suddenly, Barga Man burst out from behind a wall of scrapped car parts. He lunged at Roll like a leopard about to catch its prey.

Roll dashed to the side, but it wasn't enough to keep her arm from getting scratched by one of his claws. She clenched her teeth before looking at Barga Man.

"I told you… My next strike would not miss." Barga Man stared her down.

"That doesn't mean you're going to hit from now on!" Roll jumped from side to side, knowing he'd try and challenge that statement.

"Pointless." Barga Man dashed towards Roll in the same side-to-side manner, but that was exactly what Roll wanted. With an enemy so intent on trying to get a hit on her, she thrust her spear forward, getting it through Barga Man's chest.

That should have been the end of it, but Barga Man slowly walked up the shaft of the spear. The blade eventually poked out his back as he tried to swipe at Roll's face.

Roll knew what she had to do. She pulled her sword out, leaving the spear in Barga Man's chest, before swinging it down on his head. It split right in half, revealing the circuitry within… including his I.C. chip.

"And that's that, I guess…" Roll sighed and removed her bow, wrapping it around her arm's wound so that no foreign objects could get into it and muddle up her systems. She reached into Barga Man's head and removed his I.C. chip. "I better get home… Everyone must be so worried about me."

* * *

"Cut Man? Are you okay?" Dr. Light spoke into the headset.

"I, I tried to… h-h-hurt Rock…" Cut Man's voice was shaky.

"Cut Man, please don't worry. You weren't you when you fought him." The doctor tried to comfort him.

"I tried to harm him because I thought he was a bad guy, but I was the bad guy, I-" Cut Man kept on babbling.

"Cut Man, listen to me!" Dr. Light's voice got more serious.

"Y-You hate me, don't you…?" Cut Man sounded like he was crying.

"Never in a million years! None of us could ever hate you…" Dr. Light clutched onto the keyboard.

"Dr. Wily showed me the video feed of Bomb Man being taken out… I was convinced I was going to die… he didn't even tell me if Bomb Man was going to be rebuilt…"

"Of course. Of course Dr. Wily did that." Dr. Light clenched his fists. "I'll never… I'll never forgive…" Tears started flowing from his eyes. "Oh, who am I kidding…? I can never forgive myself for letting Dr. Wily become the man he was in the first place…"

"Hey…! Dad, if you won't let me blame myself for fighting Rock, I won't let you blame yourself for this whole thing either!"

Dr. Light wiped his eyes off. "Cut Man, I guess it might be hypocritical of the man with the guilt complex to tell you this, but… it was out of your control. There was nothing you could do. So don't blame yourself for it. We'd never hate you. Okay?"

"...I love you, dad."

"I love you too, son."

The front door opened up and Roll walked in. "I'm home."

"Ah, Roll, welcome back!" Dr. Light turned around and saw her arm. "Oh no, did you trip and cut yourself?"

"I wish…" Roll took out the two I.C. chips she retrieved from the two Robot Masters she fought.

"W-What…?" Dr. Light took them.

"You had to fight Robot Masters too?!" Mega Man ran up to Roll.

"Two garbage boys. Called themselves the Special Wily Numbers…"

"So Dr. Wily is even making his own Robots to try and cause more harm…" Dr. Light sighed. "This is going to be a hard time for us all…"

"You need any help?" She looked over and saw Cut Man on the repair table.

"Cut Man's inner workings are all jostled up from taking a huge blow from a big stone block, his head even more so because Mega Man punched him to take him out."

"Well, you got four extra hands to help you out now!" Guts Man gave Dr. Light a thumbs up.

"Yeah, no worries! We'll have him done in no time at all!" Bomb Man pulled out the box of cores from the closet.

"You're all so kind…" Dr. Light smiled. "Okay, let's get him finished up."

* * *

Dr. Wily kneaded his temples. Yet another unit down…

"Dr. Wily, you said you needed us?" Elec Man had teleported in with Ice Man coming in shortly afterward.

"He's taken down half of us and it's only been one day…" Ice Man was twiddling his thumbs nervously.

Fire Man was already there before the two of them came in. He was trying to play guitar and naturally failed because he had no hands. He threw the guitar and torched it, having had enough of trying.

"I think it's about time that I gave you three a… proper outfitting." Dr. Wily spun in his chair to face them.

"And what would that entail?" Elec Man leaned on Ice Man's head.

"Please stop…" Ice Man couldn't do anything.

"For you and Ice Man, weather control would best suit both of you. For Fire Man, I think a better flamethrower will benefit you more."

"That would suit me perfectly, sir!" Ice Man smiled.

"More firepower… I ain't opposed to that at all!" Fire Man grinned with absolute glee.

"It won't take long, will it? I am in desperate need to show my audience my full potential…" Elec Man cartwheeled as he came towards Dr. Wily.

"Not at all! It'll take even shorter than that idiot Light took to upgrade his little Blue Bomber!"

"Upgrade me first! My serial number comes before theirs!" Ice Man came up and saluted Wily, in true kissass fashion.

"Hell no, give them to me first! I'll take down that Mega Man with my own hands!" Fire Man shoved Ice Man to the side.

Elec Man looked over at Fire Man. "...You don't have hands-"

"WITH MY OWN HANDS!"

"With your own hands…"

Dr. Wily looked over to Elec Man. "I'm going to assume they'll fight you next. Therefore, you shall be the first to be upgraded. But don't worry. Whether or not Elec Man beats him, we shall reach our goal!"


	5. Elec Man and Ice Man

_**THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN UPDATED!**_

* * *

Rock feebly tried to get up off the ground. The air around him was filled with soot and embers, burning orange light surrounding him.

Was this Hell?

No, this was his home…

Maniacal laughter rang through the air as a biting cold took over his body, stopping Rock dead in his tracks, tears streaming down his eyes as he had no way to escape his attackers now.

"Pathetic. This is the best you could do against us?" A familiar flamboyant voice mockingly spoke into Rock's ear before he could feel a boot stomp the back of his head.

"W-Why…?" Rock's voice was faint and weak. Unable to fight back, his fate was sealed.

"Doctor Wily's orders were to neutralize you, by any means possible!" The roar of thunder filled the air as lightning bolts blasted from the sky. Rock could feel every circuit in his body get fried by the sheer amount of electricity overloading his systems. Everything went black...

* * *

Rock jolted awake. Tears streamed down his face and his breathing was shaky. Was that a night terror? But robots don't dream… do they?

It was ten o'clock P.M., not even close to the amount of time he had to be "asleep" to charge up completely. Roll was still in her charging bed, motionless as a log. What happened to him?

Rock didn't care at this point. He had to strike before they did.

Rock crept out of his room and to Dr. Light's lab. He turned the main computer's volume down significantly before actually powering on the computer.

His last three siblings appeared on the screen. Ice Man, Fire Man, and Elec Man.

Rock shifted into his armor as he began to search for something on the computer. A video box popped up, playing the news.

"My name is Chest, and this is MCNN at 10. As the threat of Doctor Wily's sudden theft and takeover of Doctor Light's robots has been cut in half, the robots that remain are causing even bigger problems. Ripot is on the scene at the power plant. Ripot?"

"Thank you, Chest! So as you can see right behind me, there's a whole light show of a thunderstorm happening at the Mega City Power Plant, but not a single drop of rain! Whatever Dr. Wily did to Elec Man, he's controlling the very weather around here right now!

"The same could be said for Ice Man, who has frozen an entire portion of the city in sheets of ice and snow..." A brief video clip of said event played on-screen.

"And in addition to that, the Rolling Metalworks Inc. building that Fire Man is occupying has grown so hot that no human can safely approach it." A clip of that location played next. The camera was blurred from the amount of heat coming from the ground.

"It's gotten even worse… I have to stop them." Mega Man brought up the coordinates that Dr. Light had set up. He had to set a timer for the teleporter to bring him back, as no one else was up at these hours.

"It's time I cut the cord on Elec Man." Mega Man was never this serious before. His core wasn't even fully charged and yet he still intended to go out in the middle of the night and fight his siblings, without anyone even piloting the drone so he knew what to expect.

* * *

Feet hitting the ground, Mega Buster out, Mega Man looked up at the platforms he had to traverse through the power plant. "I gotta be quick… I have an hour to do this… I can make it, though." He jumped up, shooting each of the Gabyoalls that slid towards him before climbing up the ladder. There's going to be a lot of climbing again… But that wasn't going to slow Mega Man down this time.

* * *

"Screw it." Shoegaze threw away his lottery ticket. Yet another loss for him. So much for those lucky numbers.

The casino was bustling with so much activity that Shoegaze couldn't focus on any one thing for more than a few seconds. But it wasn't important anymore. He wanted out.

Quickly, he walked the opposite direction he came from. With all the people and machines, it was like a maze that he had to navigate. Squeezing between people, he lost his way yet again.

Shoegaze's senses came back to Earth just before a stranger bumped into him.

"Hey, watch it!" Shoegaze shouted.

"S-Sorry, sir, I didn't see you-" The man had a crew cut and looked incredibly out of place here in the casino. Stuttering, nervous, and extremely shy.

"Whatever." Shoegaze shook his head as he walked past the man.

"Wait, sir, can you help me?" The man held onto Shoegaze's sleeve. "I lost my girlfriend and I can't find her!"

"Well, I'm lost too, so she and I both have problems." Shoegaze tried to escape his grip.

"Can you at least try and help?!" The man held onto his sleeve tighter.

"Alright, alright... What's her name?" Shoegaze shook his head.

"Simone." The man looked at him.

Shoegaze swallowed a lump in his throat. "Last name...?"

"Miller."

Shoegaze took a deep breath...

"EMERALD SPEARS!" Shoegaze shouted, pointing at the man and bolting in the other direction. He hoped that was loud enough to at least cause some people to panic and prevent whoever this man was from following him.

Now to find the exit...

* * *

These were some long ladders… Mega Man looked up and climbed as fast as he could, only to turn around and see strange orb-like robots floating down from above.

Not taking any chances, Mega Man fired his Buster at them, destroying them instantly. But then he looked down and saw that three more had been floating up from below him. Two eye stalks popped out from each end of them as they shot lightning at the Blue Bomber.

"Damn!" Mega Man almost got hit, but he shot down at them, taking them out.

"I'll have to be careful about those…" Mega Man reached the end of the ladder, looking up and seeing just a single block in the air that he could jump on. Nowhere near close enough to the edges that he had to go up.

Suddenly, more blocks appeared and then disappeared shortly afterward.

"Easy…" Mega Man jumped up just before one of them appeared, then quickly bounced onto the next one. Somehow, his fear of heights wasn't getting the best of him despite how high up he was.

Climbing up another ladder, a bridge of disappearing blocks formed in front of him. He ran across and jumped onto another ledge. This time, it led outside, where the cold night air hit his skin and lightning danced through the clouds.

"Statistics." Mega Man talked to himself as he climbed up yet another ladder. In his vision, it showed his status. How full his weapon gauges were, how much damage his shell sustained… and how much energy he had left. He was in desperate need of charging.

"Damn it…" Mega Man jumped onto one of the small platforms in front of him before turning around. There was an energy capsule just sitting there, across another gap that he had to jump across. "That's convenient…" Mega Man smirked to himself before leaping over to grab it.

Plugging it into his buster, he could feel himself feel more awake now as the capsule refilled his energy. "Alright, let's go!" Mega Man jumped gracefully across each of the platforms. He was going to see this mission through.

* * *

BANG!

Shoegaze felt a bullet graze his hair, taking off a tiny lock.

"You're not getting away this time!" A voice shouted from behind him, no doubt Simone's. It was burnt into Shoegaze's mind when she pointed that gun at his head.

Immediately, he dived to the side into a row of slot machines before making a U-turn and running south between the rows. If he was lucky, when Simone tries to follow him, she'd expect him to have run further north.

The screams of terrified patrons should drown out the sound of him running away too. He could try and follow them, then blend in with them to get to the exit.

However, he felt something nick the back of his head. A bullet grazed his skin, having been fired from between the crack between two slot machines. Red blood came leaking out the wound.

Blood…? But he was a robot, wasn't he?

Shoegaze didn't have time to think about his anatomy. He bolted down the aisle and joined in with a group of people running towards the exit.

* * *

"Where'd he go?!" Simone looked down where Shoegaze ran and saw the droplets of blood on the floor. Her own blood ran cold as she walked up to it, touching it with her fingers.

"Did you find him?" Simone's boyfriend ran up to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Theo, I… I hit a civilian." Simone shuddered.

"What?!" Theo looked at the blood. "O-Oh no… Harvey's going to be so-"

"We'll just say it was beanie boy who did it. Harvey doesn't have to know."

"But he's our leader! What if he finds out we lied?!"

"Not gonna happen, it's not like he looks at any mainstream news." Simone stood up straight and made a mad dash towards an employees-only exit. "Let's get the hell outta here before the cops arrive!"

"W-Wait up!" Theo bolted behind her as sirens rang out through the night's air.

* * *

Mega Man ran along the outside of the power plant. Finally, another place to take a short breather. But something was… off. He looked at one of the walls before his curiosity got the best of him.

Equipping the Super Arm, Mega Man punched right through the wall before seeing a little something on the ground. It was some kind of attachment… for his Mega Buster?

Growing even more curious, he equipped the peculiar thing and fired. A beam of light went through the air and froze. It didn't seem like much, but Mega Man tapped his hand on it and it felt solid. This new "weapon" could create platforms for him.

"This is called…" He searched his statistics for weapon energy. "The Magnet Beam. This should come in handy." His confidence grew even more as he made his way up another ladder. This place just went up, up, up… but he wasn't going to let that stop him.

* * *

"Elec Man, do you hear me?! That Mega twerp is coming your way!" Wily's voice sounded panicky.

"...Huh?" Elec Man was involuntarily activated before Wily spoke to him. "B-But I don't even have my makeup on-"

"Now is not the time to think about your stupid makeup! Look alive and take him out!"

Elec Man tried to hold back a look of sorrow. He always wanted to look his best. "Yes, sir…"

Immediately after saying that, Elec Man pulled out a small set of foundation powder and furiously applied it to his face. "This is an absolute crime. Rock couldn't have waited until the morning to see me?! When I was actually ready?!"

He sighed to himself before applying mascara. "No, Dr. Wily said that none of them cared about me, otherwise they'd be here by now… but, this is the opposite… Rock really does care! Yes, that must be it! He loves me enough that he'd come and see me!"

Elec Man lived off of attention. Any time he got to show off, it made him feel more alive. "My precious brother, how it pains me that I'll have to kill you when you come here. But orders are orders.

"How much time do I have?" He looked down at a pocket watch he carried with him. "Enough time for my lip butter, eyeliner, and eyebrows…"

* * *

The wailing of the sirens came closer to the casino before a multitude of police cars screeched to a halt.

"Everyone, remain calm!" Gilbert's voice was amplified by a megaphone. He came walking out, looking around to see if anyone had sustained injuries. He paced through the crowd, trying to assess the situation before his eyes fell upon a familiar face…

"Ozzy?!" Gil ran up to him and saw his bloodstained hand. "Are you okay?!"

"It's just a scratch, no big deal…" Shoegaze's hand had been prodding at the nick from the bullet that grazed him.

"What the hell happened here?" Gil put his hand on his arm and began walking him towards the front of the crowd for medical attention.

"It's that Simone you mentioned. Some guy told me she was his girlfriend and I knew for sure they were after me."

"Girlfriend?" Gil only knew one person who'd even get close to Simone intimately. Theo Payne. "Was it Simone who shot you?"

"Yeah. I'm not dead so that's good and all-" Shoegaze cringed when one of the doctors rubbed the wound with rubbing alcohol; not because he felt pain, but because he had to pretend that it hurt him like a human.

"But why's she after you? I thought she was only after your friend."

"For all I care, they're going after sympathizers as well." Shoegaze's wound was covered with a non-stick pad and bandage. "I don't need to go to the hospital or anything, you can let me go now."

"Are you sure you don't need anything else? No therapist needed or anything?" Gil tried his best to show he cared.

"She pointed a gun at my head and I described it to you like it was just a normal Tuesday. I'm too far gone for a therapist." Shoegaze walked off and spat on the sidewalk.

"Wait, Ozzy-" Gil wanted to go after him, but his feet felt heavy and stayed firmly on the ground. Just who was this guy? "You can come over to my place if you want."

"Eh? Really now? Well, guess it beats the streets." Shoegaze shrugged.

* * *

Mega Man was almost there. Sliding under the Big Eye that blocked his way, he saw the last ladder going all the way up. That should be where Elec Man was.

He climbed as fast as he could. He only had five minutes left. And these electric fields that randomly turned on and off didn't help matters at all. But soon enough, he got to the door that was at the top of the ladder and entered the boss room.

"Oh, my precious brother…" Elec Man's voice was so full of joy. "You do care about me! But alas, I must-"

"Cut. The crap. Elec Man." Mega Man immediately equipped the Rolling Cutter. His armor turned white and orange, two blades stuck out the top of his helmet, and he even got goggles that mimicked Cut Man's big eyes.

"W-What? Rock, you've never used such crude language before…"

"You could never control the weather before, but here we are." Mega Man shrugged.

"Hey, I'm the sarcastic one here!" Elec Man chuckled. "You're rife with boyish attitude right now… What's going on? Early-age rebellion? Wake up on the wrong side of the charging bed?"

"Let's just get to the point… I'm taking you back to the lab." Mega Man held his Mega Buster out, a pair of scissors pointing straight at Elec Man.

"Any other day, I'd find this kind of attitude from you hilarious, adorable even… But right now… It's pissing me off." Elec Man pointed his finger up as lightning bolts struck all around Mega Man.

Mega Man jumped back, almost getting hit each time, but still successfully dodging them all before throwing the Rolling Cutter right at Elec Man's arm. It sliced clean through as Elec Man gripped the stub in pain.

"W-Why, you little-" Elec Man shot Thunder Beams from his remaining arm. "Is this what you plan to do?! Hurt everyone you care about?! Hurt everyone that still cares about me?!"

"What choice do I have when lives are on the line?" Mega Man tossed another Rolling Cutter at his remaining arm, but it was deflected back at him by a sudden forcefield of electricity that surrounded Elec Man. "Damn!"

"I thought you loved me!" Elec Man cried out, putting his arm stub on the ground and sending several currents traveling along the floor towards Mega Man.

Mega Man screamed in pain, feeling his whole body fry…

His mind went back to that nightmare.

He can't let it end like this.

Mega Man reached for his helmet and threw it straight at Elec Man, the blades at the top stabbing right into Elec Man's head and knocking him back.

With a scream, Mega Man ran forward and fired the Rolling Cutter at Elec Man's neck, sending his head flying off.

This won't be hard for Dr. Light to repair at all, Mega Man thought to himself. He picked up the severed parts and hugged Elec Man's body as the teleporter brought the two back.

* * *

Dr. Light's eyes opened up as he tried to move… But, he couldn't even arch his back a bit. Dear God, what are those noises? They sound like they're coming from his lab… But he can't move at all. He was stuck in a sleep paralysis episode.

The teleporter sounded like it was on. The scraping of metal on that floor rang through the halls, followed by three different thuds.

Dr. Light's heart pounded. Did someone or even something invade his house? Something bad was amiss…

And then he turned his head around. He saw a large figure in the darkness of his room.

This could have been anything. This could have just been one of those sleep paralysis demons that the kids talk about on the internet. But with what he heard from his lab, he wasn't so sure.

"Hhhhhh…" Light tried to cry out, but only faint whimpers left his throat…

"Y-You heard that too, didn't ya, Light?!" The figure spoke.

"..." Dr. Light realized it was Auto.

"I-I'm scared! P-Please, can I stay with you?!" Auto didn't even wait for an answer as he climbed in and held onto the Doctor as tightly as he could.

Dr. Light couldn't even protest, as this sleep paralysis kept him from making anything more than a quiet, tortured wheeze.

* * *

The combination of the night sky and the snow and ice all around him made Mega Man cold, but also at peace. He began to slide along the ice below his feet, trying his best not to slip.

That was when he encountered a new robot; a bipedal, green one. It looked easy enough to take on, so Mega Man shot a few solar bullets into its torso.

However, that proved to be a bad idea, as its head and arms jumped out and floated right towards our hero. "Crap!" He slid onto his back and shot up at the head, and it went down in one hit.

"Alright… headshots are effective." Mega Man tried to get back on his feet, but slipped and fell face-first into the snow.

* * *

"Soldier, this is the most important moment of your life. You are about to fight the one obstacle between you and saving the world," the general spoke.

"S-Sir, I don't… I'm scared…" the soldier stuttered.

"Fear is a natural reaction to this. You may very well get killed in the process. But remember, even if we die, our message will still reach the masses. Surely, they will carry on our fight, knowing who the real villains are in the end…"

"But how can we be so sure…?"

"We just have to believe in our cause."

* * *

Mega Man climbed out of the freezing water he had to swim through, making himself give off more heat so that the water didn't freeze on him. That took a noticeable toll on his energy… He knew he was in trouble…

Jumping down a hole, he saw two Octo Batteries going up and down, guarding… another energy capsule? Mega Man shot down the two adversaries as he went up to plug it in.

"Why are these just laying around? It's like they want me to keep on going…" Mega Man said that as if he just thought Wily was stupid.

He jumped down the next hole he saw, into some more cold water… That is, he would have before he used the Magnet Beam to create a platform under himself. He couldn't expend his energy heating himself up again. That's when the disappearing blocks started appearing.

"Oh, joy." Mega Man sighed. "This stuff again…"

* * *

"S-Sir, I can't do this… I'm afraid-"

"Soldier, do you have no pride in your cause?!"

"O-Of course I do, sir!"

"Then you will go through with this, no matter the cost! This is for a better future!"

* * *

Mega Man jumped across each of the disappearing blocks in the next room before making two platforms using his Magnet Beam to skip the rest of them. He didn't have time for these puzzles. The teleporter would bring him back in 30 minutes.

It was then that Mega Man reached a cliffside. A fall from this height would kill him, but the only means of traversing them were platforms that had guns on either side of them, that shot right at him.

He almost felt afraid, but… he took out his Magnet Beam again, creating long platforms to run along right across the open air. This thing was his most useful weapon in the whole of his arsenal.

Once he was over the cliffs, he jumped down another hole in the ground, and this time, there were three smaller energy capsules. That was just enough to bring Mega Man's power back up to full. Where did all these energy capsules come from? He didn't care, he was raring to go now.

* * *

This was it. The final stretch. Mega Man ran under the Big Eye and into the final corridor, shooting down every Peng that got in his way before he got to the door to Ice Man's room.

There, he saw Ice Man on his knees, holding onto his head as he began to talk to himself, not even noticing his brother. "Sir… is this truly the right thing to do?"

"Soldier, you are about to face death in the eye and you still question your mission?!" Mega Man could see Ice Man's self-dialogue in person now. Ice Man's voice just got deeper all of a sudden, like hearing a piccolo make the sound of an alto flute.

"S-Sir, what if no one takes us seriously when it's all said and done?"

"The icecaps are melting. Arctic species are dying. Humans are destroying the Earth as we speak. They will come to realize that this is their comeuppance."

"B-But won't they hate us…?"

"History will vindicate us. It doesn't matter what they say now. Today's pariahs are tomorrow's messiahs."

"So is that what you really think of yourself?" Mega Man equipped the Thunder Beam, his Mega Buster turning into a thunder rod-like design as his armor turned black, yellow, and red with lightning designs all over his helmet.

"..." Ice Man turned around. "Sorry, I must have been talking aloud to myself… Usually, those conversations go on in my head, but-"

"Do you think what you're doing is some sort of messianic duty? Something that people should applaud? Wily's reprogramming must have done a number on you… I have to take you back this instant." Mega Man pointed his Mega Buster at Ice Man, a cold look growing on his face.

"And what will that do?! No matter how much I beg and plead, humans will never listen to me! They'll just keep polluting the world until they ultimately destroy the Earth and all its beautiful creations! Dr. Wily... he promised me we could stop the world from dying if we overthrow the humans-"

Mega Man immediately shot the Thunder Beam right at Ice Man, causing him to convulse violently before attempting to get back.

"You talk too much." Mega Man walked over and charged up another Thunder Beam.

"S-STOP AND FREEZE!" Ice Man glowed with a strange, cold aura before icicles started falling from the ceiling.

"Crap!" Mega Man dashed backward, the icicles only barely missing him.

"I WON'T BACK DOWN FROM MY MISSION!" Ice Man shot several Ice Slashers through the icicles, hitting Mega Man on the arm and torso with them.

"T-Then I'll put an end to it!" Mega Man jumped onto an icicle and shot right at Ice Man once more.

"T-T-T-T-THE WORLD'S G-G-G-GOING TO D-D-D-D-DIE IF YOU S-S-S-S-STOP ME!" Ice Man shook once again. His circuits had a flaw in them… he was short-circuiting from the overdose of electricity flowing into him.

"And it'll die if Wily gets his way." Mega Man fired off one last beam, and that finished Ice Man off.

Mega Man picked Ice Man up off the ground before the teleporter's timer ran out and brought him back to the lab.

* * *

**May 26, 20XX**

Midnight came. More noises came from the lab.

"T-There it is again! The teleporter's turning on!" Auto had a death grip on Dr. Light.

"Ghh hhh fhh mh!" Dr. Light tried to push Auto off of his face as he heard the teleporter. "We have to go see what it is!"

"B-But I'm scared, Doc!"

"So am I!" Dr. Light turned on a flashlight and quickly made his way out the bedroom door, trying to move as quickly as possible.

"Oh no…" Mega Man heard footsteps from the stairs. He tried to put Ice Man's unconscious body onto a repair table, but a whole body was heavier than a body and two dismembered limbs…

"M-Mega Man?!" Dr. Light could not believe his eyes. "What are you doing?! How are you awake?!"

"...How's Auto awake?" Mega Man hoped that would distract him.

"...Wait, how are you awake, Auto?!"

"Well, I don't sleep when I charge! Sleep's for the weak! How else am I supposed to run a shop that's open 24/7?" Auto crossed his arms.

"How did you even get in my house?!"

"You keep an extra key in the flowerpot with the rose-"

"How did you find that out?!"

Mega Man took this opportunity while they were distracted to pull the lever back and activate the teleporter.

"W-Wait, Mega Man!" Dr. Light tried to run up and stop him, but it was too late. Mega Man was off to get Fire Man now.

"Uh… Doc, what's going on?"

"I don't know, Auto! That's what I'm going to find out!" He went into the teleporter's executive file, turned off the automatic teleportation, and then sent the drone into the teleporter after Mega Man.

* * *

Mega Man could feel the sweltering heat all around him. Even for a metalworking factory, this was ridiculous. It's like everywhere Mega Man looked, there was molten metal…

"Mega Man!" Dr. Light's voice rang through his ears as the drone teleported in. "Explain to me! How did you wake up?! Please, tell me!"

"...Wouldn't you like to know." Mega Man scowled and walked away.

"Why aren't you following my orders?! Mega Man, you have to stop! Don't you realize the toll this can put on you?! You better come back home this instant or you're in-"

Mega Man cut off Dr. Light's voice by blasting the drone with one of his solar bullets.

Dr. Light was petrified to the bone. Mega Man was never this trigger happy. Something bad was happening.

Something was happening and he didn't even know how or why.


	6. Fire Man and… Mega Man?

_**THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN UPDATED!**_

* * *

Dr. Light sweated bullets as he frantically typed away into the computer's console. "Emergency start-up!"

The faces of the four remaining robots in the house appeared on the screen of his computer. "Okay, Bomb Man can't go because the fire would obliterate him…" Dr. Light selected Roll, Cut Man, and Guts Man, hurriedly sending them a push notification…

* * *

"Alert." Roll's eyes shot open as robotic text-to-speech spoke in her ears. "Emergency action required. Please meet Dr. Light in his laboratory as quickly as possible."

"What-" Roll's eyes darted over to Rock's bed, but… he wasn't there. "Oh no!" Grabbing her broom, Roll made a mad dash to the lab, hearing the door of Cut Man and Guts Man's room swing open behind her.

"What's going on?! I just got fixed earlier and already I gotta be woken up?!" Cut Man sounded annoyed but more than that he sounded afraid.

"Rock's not in his charging bed! He's gone!" Roll took a sharp turn, almost sliding into the wall in the process.

"Gone?!" Guts Man lifted Cut Man onto his shoulders, holding on tightly so the little guy didn't fall off.

* * *

Dr. Light was shuffling through the closet to get another drone out as the three Robot Masters ran into the lab.

"What's going on, Pops?! Roll said that Rock was-" He saw the broken shells of the two brothers that were brought back. "Missing- oh my God…!"

"Mega Man's gone rogue." Dr. Light spoke quickly.

"What?!" Cut Man covered his mouth.

Dr. Light took a box out of the closet. "I kept these from Mega Man earlier; being online for too long can strain the core. But you were all inactive long enough for your cores to be relaxed." He opened the box, it was filled with six different blue cans with a big letter E on each of them. "Each of you takes one."

"I always wondered where you were keeping the E-Tanks." Roll picked one of them up and cracked it open.

"They don't grow on trees, you know. I need you all to use them wisely." Light pointed at the main computer screen, with Rolling Metalworks Inc.'s coordinates typed into the teleporter's executable. "With full energy, you should all be able to get through here and save Mega Man."

"Well, let's not waste any time, then!" Cut Man chugged the tank in one go, crushing it against his head before giving a shout and throwing it down. "LET'S GO!"

"Ready!" Guts Man poured the entire tank into his lower jaw before swallowing it.

"Why did you wake me up?" Roll drank her E-Tank in several swigs before putting it down.

"Mega Man had coding in him to drop everything when his siblings got hurt. For the most part, I disabled that so that he'd be able to fight his siblings. The only one I didn't disable it for was you." Dr. Light looked down at Roll.

"I know where you're going with this. But how do we know he hasn't lost that bit of him too?"

"You were able to fight two Robot Masters without having Mega Man's upgrades. You're strong enough to take that risk. But the real question is are you willing to?"

Roll stayed silent.

* * *

The change in temperature could be felt immediately as the trio was teleported to the location.

"It's like a sauna but even hotter!" Cut Man fanned himself. "Man, Ice Man would hate this place."

"We don't have time to complain about the heat, we gotta haul ass!" Guts Man rushed to the ladder. "Come on!"

"Right!" Roll pulled her spear out, climbing as fast as she could before taking out one of the Screw Driver turrets on the floor. "Hang in there, Mega!" Determination glowed in her eyes.

* * *

Mega Man looked around a room full of fire geysers, shooting his Magnet Beam to traverse across them easily. "He really went ham on this place. How much more fire do you need? Such a pain in the ass."

Mega Man kept his cool despite the heat, and he made his way down into the next room. But just as he was about to run to the next ladder going down, he felt the ground shake beneath his feet as he tripped over.

"W-What the hell?! An earthquake?" He held his hands above his head as the ground shook. But this wasn't an earthquake; it wasn't a constant shaking, but a series of shakes that stopped and happened again.

"No, he couldn't have…!"

* * *

Guts Man carried Cut Man and Roll on his shoulders as he jumped over each of the fire geysers. "There we go! See? This is gonna be easy!"

"B-But we're all gonna get fried if you mess up!" Cut Man clutched onto the big guy as tight as he could.

"Maybe if you shut your yap right now I won't!" He called out as he jumped again. "MEGA MAN! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

* * *

"What the hell are they doing here?!" Mega Man leaped into the air before the next tremor came, climbing down the ladder. A sea of fire loomed under him, and more fire geysers sprayed up in an attempt to flash fry him.

The geysers were the least of his worries, as six different robots clad in fire burst out of the molten metal and attempted ram into Mega Man.

"Gh-" Mega Man reflexively activated the Ice Slasher, his armor turning white and blue with a fur trim around his helmet.

He fired at the little fireballs, the ice melting instantly and extinguishing them so he could punch them away. "I still got enough shots to take out my target." Mega Man stumbled from the tremors of Guts Man's jumps as he climbed up the next ladder.

* * *

"MEGA MAAAAN!" Guts Man screamed his brother's name as he leaped across several platforms in a single bound.

"B-Be careful, Guts!" Roll held her broom out, knocking away the Changkeys that floated towards them, but not taking them out.

"Look, we're in a hurry to get him, but-" If Cut Man could sweat, he'd be doing it from not only the heat but also the utter nervousness he felt. "Oh lordy lordy lordy-"

"We're going to be fine, you guys! It's no big deal!" Guts Man leaped in front of the ladder and tried to climb up as fast as he could.

"You say that, but-" Cut Man got off of Guts Man's shoulder. "I can't handle taking any more risks!"

"You guys might want to be careful." The drone finally caught up with the three. Dr. Light pointed the drone over to a machine that was pumping glob after glob of melted metal. "This thing will require perfect timing to run through."

"Well, there is another way…" Roll looked up. She a ledge they could grab onto, but it was a bit too high for even Guts Man to reach. "Okay, Cut Man, you get on both of Guts Man's shoulders, and then I'll climb on top of you."

"This better work." Cut Man did as Roll said, taking the scissors off of his head so that he didn't accidentally snip her.

"It's the only way unless you wanna burn." Roll pulled the spear out of the broom before getting on top of Cut Man's shoulders. "Alright, Guts Man, jump!"

"Alley-oop!" Guts Man jumped up. The ledge was just barely out of reach…

Roll stabbed her spear into the wall. "Okay, one more time!"

"HUP!" Guts Man jumped again, but this time, Roll leaped off of Cut Man and grabbed onto the spear, spinning around a bit before jumping onto the ledge. "It worked! You two try it now!"

"Nice thinking, Roll!" Cut Man smiled as Guts Man jumped up once more so Cut Man could grab onto the spear and push himself up. "Nice of you to give us a lift. Literally!"

Guts Man leaped up one more time, doing a pull-up on the spear before grabbing onto the ledge, pulling the spear out of the wall, and handing it back to Roll. "Nice job, sis. Where would we be without your brains?"

"Save it, we got a brother to save!"

* * *

Mega Man slowly stepped into Fire Man's room as he aimed his Ice Slasher forward.

"YEE-HAW!" Fire Man burst through the ceiling in a brilliant orb of fire. "I can finally let the fire of justice burn m' enemies as I've always wanted! Evildoer, ya better beware-"

"Shut up." Mega Man blasted the Ice Slasher right at Fire Man, the ice melting into water and immediately extinguishing his flames.

"What the?! Ya can't just interrupt someone durin' a dramatic speech! That's underhanded!"

"Welcome to the real world, Fire Man. Come out of your fantasy land and accept the fact you'll never be a hero."

"Never took ya fer the type to give others lip, Rocky bud. I don't like it one bit." His head flame reignited as he pointed his arm cannons at Mega Man. "FIRE!" A giant blast of flame came from his arm cannons, straight at the Blue Bomber.

"Such a loudmouth…" Mega Man rolled out of the way before shooting once more, hitting Fire Man square in the chest.

"YAGH! Yer gonna pay fer that, buddy boy-" Fire Man was interrupted by another Ice Slasher hitting him right in the kisser, freezing his mouth shut.

"Finally… some peace and quiet." Mega Man shot yet another Slasher, but Fire Man jumped into the air and then landed on his arm cannons, charging up a big attack, the ice melting off of his lips…

"FIREEEEE!" Suddenly, on both sides of him, pillars of fire erupted from the ground, circling all around the room as Mega Man used his Ice Slasher to extinguish them.

"You think you're such hot stuff, but you're nothing more than a tadpole flopping on land so it can crawl like the frogs." Mega Man shot Fire Man point-blank with the Ice Slasher, freezing his whole upper body.

"S-Shut up…!" Fire Man's eyes began to water. "I'll… I'll stop yer evil plans no matter the cost!"

"It's costing you your life and you haven't even stopped me." Mega Man aimed the Ice Slasher right at Fire Man's face.

"W-W-Wait! If ya freeze m' whole head, it'll ruin m' I.C. chip! Ya don't want that, do ya?!"

"...So what?" Mega Man was about to fire his Mega Buster, but suddenly, from out of nowhere, a flying pair of scissors came from behind him and sliced Fire Man's head off. "W-What the hell?!" Mega Man turned around.

"Mega Man… whatever happened to you, we're going to save you!" Roll brandished her broom. "Right here, right now!"

Mega Man stilled his tongue. He simply reached for Fire Man's arm cannon, pulled out the data chip, and inserted it. His armor took on the same silver and red coloring as Fire Man's armor, with the addition of fire bursting out of the top of his helmet.

"Ahem! Ahehehem!" A raspy voice came from the intercom of the metalworking facility. "Your attention, Mega Man!"

Mega Man turned around towards the speaker. "Yes, sir?"

"D-Dr. Wily?!" Roll held onto her broom.

"Your orders are going to be simple. Kill those who stand in your way."

"...Yes, sir." Mega Man turned around, equipping the Hyper Bomb. "Prepare to die."

Cut Man's pupils shrunk. Guts Man trembled. Roll stood there like a frozen deer. Their brother had been reprogrammed by Wily. But how?

They didn't have time to think as Mega Man tossed the bomb towards them.

"O-OH CRAP!" Guts Man immediately ran to the side. Roll ran in front of him and knocked the bomb back towards Mega Man using her broom, but it exploded before it got close enough.

"D-Dammit, there's nothing I can lift in here to throw at him!" Guts Man looked around, panicky.

"Actually, there is!" Roll looked over at Cut Man.

"Huh? Oh, yeah!" Cut Man dashed over to the big robot. "Let's give him the old fastball special!"

"Oh, that's right, I could have done that-" Guts Man immediately lifted his brother into the air. "Ready…"

"Steady…!" Cut Man went rigid and pointed himself right at Mega Man.

"GO!" Both of them shouted as Guts Man chucked Cut Man like a javelin. Mega Man shot a Hyper Bomb at him, but he cut the fuse before it could detonate, and then landed on top of Mega Man with a loud crash.

"Dr. Light! Where's his fuel tank?!" Cut Man looked around Mega Man's body. All of Light's robots had a backup fuel tank in case their core ran out of energy. However, it's not as efficient, being comparable to a human not sleeping at all the night before.

"It's somewhere in his lower right abdomen, just make sure none of the oil leaks into his circuitry!" Dr. Light panicked, trying his best to not faint from this whole situation. His own son, who he had made to save the world, was going to be used against it if they failed…

"Got it!" Cut Man tried to kick Mega Man onto his back, but the blue bomber rolled away, getting back on his feet before decking Cut Man right in the face.

"GYAH!" Cut Man held onto his cheek, a noticeable dent left in it.

"Absolutely pathetic." Mega Man swapped to the Super Arm and picked Cut Man up by the head. "This is the best you guys can do?"

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Guts Man roared like a mother bear as he jumped up, going for Mega Man's cranium with a double axe handle.

"Checkmate." Mega Man switched back to the Hyper Bomb and launched one, getting a direct hit at Guts Man's chest.

"GUTS!" Cut Man reached his hand out as he saw the unfortunate robot hit the wall and go unconscious. "You…! You're going to pay for this!"

"Awww, how adorable… It makes me sick." Mega Man threw the woodcutter like a ragdoll, but Cut Man landed perfectly.

"EAT THIS!" Cut Man tossed his Rolling Cutter, aiming directly at Mega Man's stomach, but this proved fruitless as Mega Man deflected it with his hand, knocking it next to Guts Man's head.

"It's time I test out a brand new toy!" Mega Man swapped back to the Fire Storm he had just obtained, aiming at his brother. "I'll incinerate you!" A huge stream of fire came shooting out of the Mega Buster.

"LOOK OUT!" Cut Man got shoved aside, falling to the ground as he saw Roll standing in his place. Cut Man couldn't even scream before he saw Roll get torched.

Cut Man was stricken with terror, but more than that… Mega Man's stoic, evil expression turned into one of pure fear and sorrow.

"ROLL!" Mega Man ran up to his sister. Her dress was charred black, her skin scorched with third-degree burns. "Roll, are you okay?!" Mega Man hugged his little sister, tears poured from his eyes.

"What are you doing, Mega Man?! Crush them! Destroy them all!" Dr. Wily's voice shouted from the intercom.

Mega Man's eyes glazed over as his programming tried to get itself in order...

* * *

CURRENT OBJECTIVE: "Eliminate all who stand in the way of Dr. Wily's goals"

IF **001 hurts 002** OR **001 witnesses 002 getting hurt** THEN **001 will drop all current objectives and help 002**

002 has been injured by 001.

DROPPING CURRENT OBJECTIVE...

* * *

"R-Roll, please, say something…!" Mega Man shook Roll around, hoping she'd open her eyes. "Roll…! ROLL!"

Cut Man looked over to Guts Man, whose eyes had opened up.

Guts Man pulled the Rolling Cutter out of the wall and gave Cut Man a thumbs up, with Cut Man giving an "OK" sign in response.

The big bot tossed the scissors with all his strength, and with both blades pointing right at Mega Man's back, it impaled him straight through, puncturing his fuel tank successfully. Cut Man leaped over and yanked his Rolling Cutter out, causing the oil to spurt out of the fuel tank.

Roll opened her eyes, staring deeply at Mega Man. "You're an amazing fighter, Mega Man… but you let your guard down too easily."

"Y-You…" Mega Man saw as the last of his energy drained away. With no oil to give him a backup energy source, he collapsed, finally defeated.

Roll got up, cringing in pain as she looked over at her two other brothers. "You know, you two are really good at improv. We didn't even discuss this plan and yet we pulled it off!"

"I was just pretending to be knocked out the whole time!" Guts Man shrugged. "Worked out well enough, I guess."

"That was a big gamble you just did, Roll!" Cut Man shouted.

"I'm just glad it worked!" Roll chuckled before breathing through clenched teeth. "It smarts though."

"Let's get everyone home now." Guts Man picked Mega Man and Fire Man up off the ground as they were all teleported back to the laboratory.

* * *

Dr. Light held his head in his hands, sighing a long, relieved sigh. "It's finally done…"

Roll set Mega Man facedown on the repair table, opening up his back to expose the fuel tank. "Now, all we have to do is fix their programming, then their shells, then we'll have to get ourselves repaired. Dad, you can just go to bed. We'll do the repairs."

"R-Really? You're too kind, Roll…" Dr. Light wiped his eyes. "Okay, thank you very much."

"No problem! Auto, Cut, Guts, you guys can help me out!" Roll gave a big smile.

"Oh yeah! Don't worry, I'm a trained professional!" Auto walked to the closet but hit his foot on one of the repair tables. "YEOWCH!"

"'Trained professional' with a million quotes." Cut Man snickered.

* * *

Roll plugged in Mega Man's I.C. chip as Auto worked on replacing his fuel tank. Cut Man and Guts Man worked on repairing Ice Man, which would simply require them to ground his shell to remove the static electricity from the Thunder Beam.

Bringing up Mega Man's code, Roll saw more changes were present than the last ones. Not only was Mega Man's loyalty changed from Dr. Light to Dr. Wily, but his emotional capacities were changed. Wily must have thought that his kind, compassionate personality would get in the way of his orders.

"This still doesn't answer how his programming was altered…" Roll leaned back and rubbed her temples. "Come on, think…"

"So, uh, why did Dr. Wily wait until Mega Man beat them all?" Guts Man thought aloud. "I mean, if he could command Mega Man to do his bidding, why wait until-"

"Wait, that's it!" Roll snapped her fingers and opened up the Mega Buster, pulling out all of the data chips Mega Man copied. She inserted the Hyper Bomb's data chip into a different slot on the computer and checked it out.

"There's malicious coding that specifically targets Mega Man and slightly impedes his morality." She unplugged it and then plugged in the Super Arm's data chip. "It's the same with this one…"

Roll nodded. "Dr. Wily really thought ahead. The data chips worked gradually so we couldn't see his symptoms until it was too late. Either Mega Man would get destroyed or he'd get through it all and become a war machine that combines all the powers of his minions into one vessel."

"Gh…" A grunt came from outside the room.

"Huh?" Roll looked over. "Dr. Light! I told you to go to bed! Please, don't-"

"I'll never forgive Wily." Dr. Light sat up against the wall, curling up. "Turning my son, who fights for peace, into a cold, heartless murder weapon… He isn't some tormented man, he's a megalomaniac. I can't forgive him! I WON'T forgive him!"

"Dad…" Roll hugged him. "It'll be okay. Please, just go back to sleep. You won't be able to get anything done later today if you stay up too late."

"I'm sorry, please just let me talk to Rock before I go back."

"Okay, but it's straight to bed when you're done! And remember to take your medicine when you wake up!"

"I know." Dr. Light rubbed his eyes as he went and put the headset on, beginning to speak to his son. "Rock… Are you okay?"

"Dad, I-I'm so sorry! I didn't know what I was doing! I know you must be mad, I d-didn't even know what was h-h-happening to me! I-"

"I'm not mad at you, Rock. I'm happy you're okay. When I wake up later, we're going to be working on finding Dr. Wily as soon as possible. Just remember, I love you with all my heart, son. You are irreplaceable and if I lost you, then I could never see another happy day again."

"Oh, Dad!" The depiction of Rock on the computer began to cry tears of joy.

"Now, I'm going to go back to bed. Tomorrow, we can look forward to a better day, hopefully."

"Right! Goodnight, Dad."

"Goodnight, son." Dr. Light removed the headset as he walked back to his room.

"Alright, we got Ice Man drained of static electricity, let's get his I.C. chip in order." Guts Man handed it over to Roll as he ejected Rock's I.C. chip and reinserted it into his shell.

"And let's give them both a charge so they can help us!" Cut Man held two E-Tanks in his hands as he poured them into the mouths of Mega Man and Ice Man.

"Well, that's one way to get things done faster…" Roll put the headset on and began to talk to Ice Man. "Hey, bro?"

"Roll?" Ice Man looked nervous.

"How are you feeling, Ice Man?"

"I'm sorry for everything I've done. Mega Man can tell you about what happened, but I thought what I was doing was the right thing. I did so much more damage than any of my other siblings have done, I froze an entire part of the city…"

"You can't help altered code, Ice. I'm sure it'll all go away. I mean, next month is June, summer's coming!"

"I hope it'll be as easy as you say it is…"

"Come on, let's get you online and we can fix your other brothers."

"Right. Thanks, sis."

Next was Fire Man's chip. Mega Man had woken up and looked over at the computer screen, shifting out of his armor.

"Can I talk to Fire?" His eyes were slightly damp.

"Go on." Roll gave Rock the headset.

"Fire Man-" As soon as Rock started talking, he wept. "I'm so sorry…"

"Hey, don't cry, bud." Fire Man's voice was calm and understanding.

"But I said all those things! I tried to kill you, Fire Man!"

"Neither of us were ourselves when we fought. I could hear it in yer voice and I saw it in yer attitude. I knew this wasn't the Rock I knew. I forgive ya, brother. Please, find it in ya to forgive yerself, too."

"I-" Rock sniffled loudly.

"Heh, this was s'posed to be a therapy session fer me, now I'm tryna cheer you up. Rock, when I'm on… I'm gonna hug the sadness outta ya like I'm wringin' the water out of a washcloth!"

"O-Oh…" Rock sniffed again. "Fire Man… you're an amazing brother. I hope you become a hero."

"Yer an amazin' hero yerself, Rock! I'd give you a thumbs up, but you can see I ain't got any." He laughed to himself.

"Heh… I can't wait for you to get repaired." Rock cheered up immensely.

"Same here!" Fire Man's image on the computer waved as his I.C. chip was ejected and swapped with Elec Man's I.C. chip by Roll.

"I'll let you take this one, too." Roll smiled.

"Thank you." Rock looked over to the computer and spoke as Elec Man's image came up. "Elec Man?"

"You cared enough to talk to me?" Elec Man's voice was quieter than normal, but it was still obvious he was overjoyed.

"You've been saying that kind of stuff a lot. I mean, it's true, but what's brought it on?"

"W-Well, I'll admit, I almost fell for Wily's lies. When you were coming to retrieve me in the middle of the night, that was the only thing that brought me back to reality. I'm so happy you forgive me!"

"Of course I do! You're important to me and everyone else in this house! We all love you, Elec Man!"

"Oh, Rock…!" Elec Man sounded like he was about to cry. "I love you all too!"

"Okay, it's high time I start repairing you now. I'll see you when you're up." Rock looked over to the tables, Ice Man had awoken.

"Rock, you were always my favorite brother." Elec Man's image smiled. "Thank you…"

"Thank you too." Rock wiped his eyes as Elec Man's I.C. chip was ejected. That was it for the therapy sessions. Now it was time to fix them all.


	7. Before the Storm

_**THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN UPDATED!**_

* * *

"Hey, what's this?" Cut Man saw a glowing light in Fire Man's head, pulling it out and inspecting it. "How'd this not get melted? The putty as well!" He opened his fingers, but the gummy glue stretched with them. "Uh…"

"Huh?" Roll grabbed it with her thumb and index finger, then tried to pull it away from Cut Man, but the sticky stuff stretched without any sign of breaking.

"Well, it looks like I'm in a sticky situation!" Cut Man giggled and tried scraping the stuff off with his scissors.

"Ugh." Roll… rolled her eyes.

"Pffhehehe! Good one!" Guts Man was amused by Cut's lame puns.

"I've never seen anything like this." Roll used a toothpick to get the rest of the putty off of the light.

"Maybe it's dangerous!" Auto held up a hammer.

"Maybe, but we won't know until-" Roll immediately swiped the light as Auto brought the hammer down on the desk. "Stop, you'll wake up dad."

"Sorry…" Auto went back to repairing Fire Man's shell.

"I have a bad feeling about this thing, but…" Roll plugged it into the computer, immediately greeted by a firewall.

"What do we do about it?" Rock looked over Roll's shoulder.

"I'm going to hack it. I can't just let its bad juju do its work without it coming down on Wily's head." Roll opened the drawer.

"You don't know how to hack, dear-" Elec Man tried to interject.

"Not yet." Roll pulled out a small, blank-covered book from the drawer.

* * *

The morning had come after what felt like an eternity to Roslyn. Another canceled date, another lonely night. But now it was time for her to get to work.

Switching into her uniform, Roslyn lazily sprayed herself with deodorant and dry shampoo so she didn't smell like tears and finely-aged wine. She took a cold bottle of water from the fridge and chugged it down to wash the taste of Satan out of her mouth.

Exiting her apartment, Roslyn strolled to the parking lot, sighing as she entered her car. She checked her phone and saw she had drunkenly crytyped to Gil. Again.

"I… I really need to stop drinking entirely." She dropped her phone into the passenger's seat and took off. How many times has she said that to herself after every failed date now? She lost count.

Arriving at the police station, she cracked her neck and mosied on in, seeing Gil had already beat her there.

"Did you see the news or were you too drunk?" Gil leaned up against the desk.

"Shove it, the news app notified me." Roslyn took her phone out of her pocket and checked the said app, walking to the locker room with Gil at the same time. "Emerald Spears attacking at the casino, right?"

"The Emerald Spears is starting to go after robot sympathizers as well. Simone is also working together with Theo Payne."

"Of course, of all the people, it's always with that guy." Roslyn shook her head, trying not to go off on another rant. "Do we know their whereabouts?"

"Unfortunately, they got away after shooting Ozzy. He's staying with me now but I don't know how safe that's going to be. If they find out, I'll basically have a target painted on my front door."

"Man, if he were a robot, he'd be in trouble, but he might not have to worry so much about bullets. He could just get fixed up at a mechanic and he'd be fine as long as his I.C. chip was intact." Roslyn stretched as she collected her stun pistol from her locker.

"If he were a robot I'd have kicked him out at this point." Gil scowled.

"Gil, you couldn't trust cell phones when they were first invented, look at you now." Roslyn rolled her eyes.

"That's different-"

"You'll come to accept robots eventually." Roslyn fixed her collar as she stepped out of the locker room. "I'm going on patrol. Maybe I'll run into your potential boyfriend along the way."

"…For the record, Ozzy bleeds red blood." Gil scowled.

"Really now?" Roslyn pretended to be shocked. "That's nice." She finally exited.

Gil walked in the opposite direction that Roslyn did. He couldn't help but wonder where Ozzy even came from. Maybe there was a file with his name on it that could explain…

* * *

"Password?" A slot in the door opened up, eyes peeking out.

"Devonshire," Simone whispered.

"Welcome back, soldier." The door opened up, a man in a green uniform with a gas mask stood to the side.

Simone walked inside, seeing Theo standing in front of the laptop that they were given. The leader of the Emerald Spears was on-screen, through a video call.

"Status report," the leader spoke simply.

"The current target's gone with the wind. We last saw him at the casino but he knows the names of some of the members." Theo looked nervous.

"That's not good at all." The leader scratched his chin.

"Harvey," Simone spoke up, calling the leader by his real name, "We're going to need more members to go on patrol around Mega City."

"Actually, speaking of members, one of our covert agents told me he has some important information regarding the LIT Manual Design Contest." Harvey leaned backward. "You're all going to have to relocate if you want to talk to him, but that's how we relay information."

"No problem. Tell us who it is and we'll be on it." Simone listened carefully…

* * *

Shoegaze banged his head on the vending machine. The one time he needed an E-Tank dispensed for him and it won't come out. He may run on solar energy, but it's still not enough to keep him from just passing out in the middle of the day.

"Come on you son of a-" Shoegaze kicked the machine hard enough to dent it, and that was enough to get the E-Tank out. "Finally…"

"You know, people can die from doing that stuff to vending machines." A voice came from behind Shoegaze, a very familiar one at that.

"Whatever, Blues. As long as my I.C. chip's intact, I'll be fine." Shoegaze popped it open, slurping it down as he shook his head.

"And it'll probably cost you an arm and a leg." Blues snickered.

"Not if I go to Dr. Light, he does repairs for free!" Shoegaze swigged from his E-Tank.

Blues went quiet, eerily so. Shoegaze stopped drinking for a moment to check on him.

"You good-"

"Don't rely on Dr. Light." Blues cut Shoegaze off, folding his arms.

Shoegaze leaned against the vending machine, hoping for an explanation. When Blues didn't give any, he asked.

"There a reason, bud?"

Blues sunk into his scarf, not wanting to answer. He paused to take a deep breath before continuing.

"I don't want you to get screwed over for something another mechanic can do." That was truth-adjacent. Blues didn't know of any other mechanics that could do something like that besides Wily, and the whole 'world domination' thing he was doing probably kept him super busy.

"I mean, he seems trustworthy, though… Why do you have beef with him? The poor guy's been going through a lot recently-" Shoegaze twirled the can around a little bit.

"Oh, I didn't know that! I live under a rock!" Blues snapped sarcastically, "Of course I've heard, Shoegaze."

"W-Well, what did he do to- Oh my god." Shoegaze stared forward.

"What?" Blues looked up, on edge.

Right in front of the two stood Roslyn, who had been looking from Shoegaze and to the E-Tank.

"U-Uh, hey, girl! How've you been, girl?!" Shoegaze was on the verge of screaming.

"So… you're..." Roslyn looked at the E-Tank again. "Actually a robot?"

Shoegaze was about to turn tail and run, but he dropped the E-Tank. "Well. Shit."

"Hoo boy, if Gil finds out, he's not gonna be impressed, buddy." Roslyn looked to the side.

"The hell does that mean?!"

"Well, you see, he's… not the biggest fan of robots."

"Alright, my first mistake was falling in love with a cop, now I'm in love with a robophobe?!"

"Hey, he didn't trust toasters when they were made because he thought the bread disappeared and was replaced by toast. He'll warm up to you… Probably."

"So I fell in love with a technophobic cop, who turns out to be a dumbass on top of it all." Shoegaze kicked the ground. "I knew my weakness for big guys would be the end of me!"

Blues winced, trying to keep a straight face. "That's rough, bud."

"Hey, Shoey." Roslyn came up with that nickname on the spot. "Your secret's safe with me. If I couldn't tell by looking, Gil can't either. That and you're right, he's not bright at all. He'll fall for at least one or two lies."

"Alright, as long as you're right about him warming up." Shoegaze sighed.

"Other than that, he has concerns about you staying over because of the Emerald Spears targeting you and all." Roslyn put a hand on his shoulder.

"You know anyone else who'd take me in?" Shoegaze asked.

"Dr. Lalinde would! She's equally as capable as Dr. Light." Roslyn smiled.

"Well… I'll stay at her place too. Anything would beat Dr. Light for me…" Blues sighed.

"No, seriously, what's your deal with-" Shoegaze looked over to him.

"Don't. Worry." Blues cut Shoegaze off again. "Let's go. Thank you, miss…"

"Roslyn Krantz!" Roslyn gave them a thumbs up. "If there's anything else that you need help with around here, I'm your gal!"

* * *

Gil chugged down his coffee, the aspirin sliding down his throat and hitting his stomach. His head was pounding for some reason. He wasn't actually taking Roslyn's little joke seriously, was he?

He knocked on the door. "Marcellus?" Marcellus was in charge of keeping track of the legal documents of everyone in the city, both human and robot.

"Yo, you need something?" Marc opened the door, his bright demeanor unchanged by Gil's troubled looks.

"I need to see if there're any documents for a certain Osric Hirono."

"No problem! Lemme check!" Marc walked over to the cabinets, his finger hovering over each one. "H, H, H- There!" He pulled the file out. "Hirono, Hirono…"

"Is there anything there?"

"The only Hirono we got is Dr. Elizabeth Hirono, but she's been missing since this year." Marc put the file back.

"A relative of hers perhaps?" Gil scratched his head. "Regardless, if he doesn't have a file, we'll need to register him with the police station."

"Well, what're we waiting for? Let's go!" Marc turned and went to exit the room.

"Uh, Marc?" Gil stopped him before they left. "I'm just asking for a friend, is it legal if a roboticist were to make a robot capable of bleeding like a human?"

"Wh'kinda question is that?" Marc chuckled nervously. "I guess if they run on oil they'd bleed that, but are you talking about like, bleeding blood?"

"Yes." Gil drank the rest of his coffee before throwing the cup away.

"I dunno if it's _il_legal, but what kinda maniac would design a robot to do that?" Marc put his cap on. "Not even Dr. Light did that with his kids."

"I guess…" Gil shook his head. He's becoming too paranoid for his own good.

* * *

"Here we are!" Roslyn rang the doorbell of Lalinde's residence. "The good doc's a member of Geoworks International, she built a Robot Master designed for stopping earthquakes!"

"No bull? She can just, like, stop 'em?" Shoegaze's eyes widened.

"Crazy, right?" Roslyn's head turned from Shoegaze to the door as it opened up. "Good morning, Dr. Lalinde!"

"Oh, Roslyn…" Dr. Noele Lalinde stood with a small glass of water, looking at the two strange robots with the officer. "Are these the two you called me about?"

"The name's Blues. Nice to meet you." He held his hand out to shake.

"'Sup? I'm Shoegaze." He kept his hands to himself.

"Nice to meet you both." Lalinde shook Blues' hand before looking over to Roslyn. "You want to stay for a bit while I show them around, Roslyn?"

"Actually, I'm on patrol, so I can't-"

"Roslyn, come in?" Gil's voice came in from the other end of Roslyn's walkie talkie.

"Hold on." She picked it up. "Roslyn speaking."

"I'm with Marcellus right now, we're looking for Osric Hirono. As it turns out, he doesn't have any documents on him, so we're going to need to fix that soon."

"You're in luck, I'm with Ozzy right now."

After explaining the situation and chattering for a little bit, Roslyn put her walkie talkie down and looked at Shoegaze. "Gil told me you bleed human blood… Is that right?"

"Yeah," Shoegaze responded simply. "I don't know everything about myself other than my creator, but last night I learned I had a faux circulatory system. Whose blood it is, I'm not sure."

"Who was your creator anyway?" Dr. Lalinde led the two robots and Roslyn into her house.

"Dr. Elizabeth Hirono." Shoegaze tried to think more, only knowing the broad strokes of his creation. "I was made to be her child, so given she gave me this blood, I can only assume she wanted me to blur the line between man and machine."

"Dr. Hirono had been missing since New Year's this year." Dr. Lalinde stood with a hand on her chin.

"I'm going to find out why. I need answers." Shoegaze clenched his fist.

* * *

Dr. Light slowly trotted downstairs. It was time to face today head-on.

Fiddling with the lithium pill in his fingers, he entered the kitchen, where he was immediately greeted by the robots that had been brought back and repaired.

"Dad!" Rock gave him a great big hug.

"I missed you!" Ice Man joined in.

"Good t' see ya, doc!" Fire Man wrapped his arm around Dr. Light's shoulders.

"Father!" Elec Man almost squeezed Dr. Light from sheer happiness.

"Oh, you guys, it's so good to see you all!" Dr. Light's face immediately lit up. "Just let me take my medicine and I'll be set for the day!"

"By the by," Elec Man followed Dr. Light as he went to get some form of sustenance. "After she was repaired, Roll opted to stay up all night in your lab. She even plugged her charging cord into the wall socket rather than go to her charging bed."

"Oh dear, I hope she isn't straining herself…" Dr. Light took an apple. "I know she's a hard worker, but being active for too long will strain her core."

"She's been up all night trying to see what this light in Fire Man's head was. I've never seen her so focused, she's been going through firewall after firewall so she can see its coding."

"I'll have to see this for myself." Dr. Light made his way to the main lab, and like Elec Man said, Roll was sitting at the computer. "Roll… are you okay?"

"Oh, Doctor! I'm fine. Did you sleep well?" Roll had just gotten through another firewall, the light was starting to blink again.

"What is that?" Dr. Light looked down at the light.

"That's what I'm going to find out." Roll snickered.

"Where'd you even get the knowledge to hack? I can understand fixing and engineering, but-"

"I read it in this book here!" Roll showed Dr. Light the blank-titled book. "You always had this, one of those 'trade secret' books that very few people have."

"Roll, I told you not to go through my belongings without my permission." Dr. Light crossed his arms.

"But this is different." Roll opened the book back up. "One of the sections was getting through a robot's firewall if they were ever implemented. I applied the same logic for this thing."

"I should have guessed... Being a robot, you can take in information on a subject and literally do it by the book. It's quite unlike how most humans work." Dr. Light bit into the apple he was holding. "I suppose I'll let you go this time. As soon as you find out what it is, tell me so I can decide what the next best course of action will be."

"No problem!" Roll smiled at him and turned her attention back to the computer, her fingers typing away as fast as mechanically possible.

"You'd make an amazing roboticist, Roll." Dr. Light smiled as he walked back into the dining room.

"Thanks, dad…" Roll was proud of herself. She's always wanted to hear those words.

* * *

"Aaaand there we go!" Marcellus took a droplet of blood into the reader. "We have a type! O Positive!"

Gil looked over at the screen. "And that's that."

"Congrats, you're officially a human being." Roslyn chuckled and gave Shoegaze a bandage.

"C'mon, don't say it like that, you sound like an alien!" Shoegaze laughed, "So, now that that's done, when you get my documents all written down, whaddya say I treat you to pizza?"

"That your idea of a fancy dinner?" Gil snickered.

"Hey, pizza's good no matter where you get it from!" Shoegaze got defensive.

"I'm kidding, sure, why not? I've got nothing to do tonight anyway." Gil turned around. "Thanks a lot, Ozzy."

"I should get back on patrol." Roslyn turned around. "Y'know, I told Gil he could use a date. Glad he listened!"

"You're the real MVP here, Roslyn." Shoegaze gave her a smile.

* * *

Blues had been fiddling about with the buttons on the main computer in Dr. Lalinde's lab. That whole thing with Shoegaze's documents was so boring to him that he needed something to stimulate himself.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't do that." A sudden voice snapped Blues out of his trance.

"W-Whoa, don't scare me like that…" Blues turned around. Standing there was a girl with a green cardigan, a white underdress, and long brown hair.

"Pardon me, I just don't want you pressing something that could cause unneeded trouble." She led Blues away from the computer. "You're Blues, aren't you? Doctor Lalinde told me about you before you came here."

"Yup, that would be me. And you are?"

"My name is Quake Woman. But right now, you may just call me Tempo." Her voice was quiet and reserved as she held her hand out. "I hope we can become speedy acquaintances."

"Nice to meetcha, Tempo." He gripped her hand, but when Tempo shook, she damn near yanked his arm off. "Wh- God, you're strong..."

"I was built this way, it's mandatory when your occupations are geology and preventing earthquakes."

"Oh, so you're that robot Roslyn mentioned. How do you do it, anyway? Stopping earthquakes, that is."

"That would be thanks to my special ability, the Quake Drill." Tempo's left hand shrunk back and then turned into a metal drill. "It used to just be for drilling rocks and minerals open, but it was later upgraded. I can give you a live demonstration if you desire."

"Nah, I'm already convinced." Blues swiveled his head around it. "Man, all that power in one drill and it's still way more compact than I'd expected. How'd Lalinde do that?"

"Now, that is a whole other story."

* * *

"Haha! No firewall is too tough for me to crack!" Roll pumped her fist. Now was the time to see what exactly was going on.

The first thing she saw was an executable file simply titled "linkup". Naturally, she had to see what that was. Double-clicking it, a loading bar popped up before disappearing when it was full. A new executable appeared called "tracker".

This immediately raised red flags for Roll, but she clicked on it. What popped up was a map with a red dot blinking on a certain spot.

This was Light's lab. The light was a tracking chip.

Roll took the light and unplugged it. This was terrifying. Dr. Wily had bugged Fire Man and now that the chip was in their house, he knew where they all were.

Roll had to do something about this. She started towards Dr. Light's room, trying to think of a plan. She couldn't stop Wily from knowing their address, but she could find a way to make it come back and bite him in the ass.

"Dad?" Roll peeked in, holding the tracker firmly in her hand.

"Roll? Is everything alright?" Dr. Light had a bunch of crumpled papers around his desk.

"I could ask you the same thing." Roll tilted her head.

"I can't figure out where Dr. Wily's hideout is!" Dr. Light grumbled, "No matter how I calculate it, there doesn't seem to be any correlation between it and where he sent the Robot Masters. The police and military personnel I've contacted are having the same trouble finding him too."

"Well… He won't be having any trouble finding us." Roll shook her head.

"Don't tell me…" Dr. Light's day was getting even worse.

"Exactly." Roll showed Dr. Light the tracker. "Dr. Wily has our location. But I was able to crack it, and now it's linked up to our computer. I uploaded it to your cloud save as well."

"What are you planning on doing, Roll?" Dr. Light asked.

"I'm going to let him capture me." Roll looked him in the eye.

Light's face twisted in horror. "R-Roll, no, it's too dangerous!"

"But we have to do it! It's the only way we can find him!" Roll held onto Dr. Light.

"I can't let you get in his clutches! What if he-" Light was on the verge of tears.

"DAD!" Roll gave him a firm shake. "If you can trust Rock to become Mega Man, then please, trust in me to do this!"

Dr. Light was stunned but began to speak again. "I'm sorry. You're right. You're a very capable girl, you wouldn't be putting yourself on the line for nothing. Now, how do we go about doing this?"

"First, we have to get everyone in a safe place, either the bunker or out of the house entirely. I plan on keeping this a secret from Cut Man, Bomb Man, and Fire Man. I don't want them doing anything rash."

"You're making them out to be more impulsive than you think-" Dr. Light had a realization. "Get everyone downstairs. There's something I have to show everyone."

"Right!" Will this plan work…? The same thought echoed through their minds. Perhaps a miracle will happen… they just have to see.


	8. The Storm Hits

_**THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN UPDATED!**_

* * *

"..." Rock stayed quiet as Roll explained the plan to him. "Are you sure about this?"

"What, you think I'm doing this to look cool?" Roll shook her head.

"What's Wily going to do to you when you get to his hideout?"

"Thinking about that won't get us anywhere. Right now, Dad wants us to go downstairs to see something."

"Okay…" Rock got up and held his sister's hand.

"Don't you trust me?" Roll gave Rock a serious look.

"I…" Rock wanted to say yes. But his fear overtook him.

"Come on, let's go." Roll led him towards the basement door. She was afraid as well. She didn't even know how much time they had left. Dr. Wily could be at their home any minute now.

* * *

Down in the basement, the two looked over at the large bunker door. Locked by a code, made of ceramic titanium like Mega Man's armor… It could take a lot of punishment before cracking. But from one of the rooms right beside it, Dr. Light whistled for the two to come in.

"There's our stop." Rock walked in. "What'd you wanna show us, Dr. Light?"

"You'll have to wait for everyone else." Dr. Light had set up a curtain in the back of the room, wiping the sweat off of his brow and looking over at Roll.

"I told Guts, Elec, and Ice, the other three are still in the dark. But… Why bring us here? Other than the bunker being nearby."

"There are two very important robots I have been working on in this room. You're going to get two new brothers." Dr. Light had a curtain set up in the back of the room.

The two kids gasped, almost with glee.

But the realization hit them.

"That's right. If Dr. Wily finds them, he may very well steal them just like he did with the others." Dr. Light's expression was glum. "I've been meaning to introduce the two of them to you and the rest of your siblings, and I don't want it to be a swift goodbye."

"Then we should tell everyone that Wily's coming! They have to know it's an urgent situation!" To say Rock was antsy was an understatement.

"I don't know how they'll react, whether they'll go with me, or try and fight back on their own. Making you have to fight more of your siblings is the last thing I want." Light put a hand on Rock's shoulder.

"Okay, dad…" Rock nodded.

Bomb Man popped in, causing Rock to force a smile.

"Heyyyy, what's up, old man?" Bomb Man had the biggest grin on his face. He knew exactly what he was there for. But he kept his mouth shut because the good doctor had already told him squealing wasn't very punk rock.

"Move it, big boy!" Right on his tail, Cut Man shoved him out of the way of the door and entered, right before Guts Man followed.

"That wasn't very nice, Cut!" Guts Man looked down at his brother. "Say you're sorry."

"Why? He was in the way!"

"I'll have to bust out my secret attack if you don't." Guts Man gave him a smirk and wiggled his fingers.

"Crap, s-sorry!" Cut Man reeled back

"Is that sinceeeeere?" Guts gripped the smaller robot by the sides and lifted him.

"Y-Yes, I'm sorry!" Cut Man tried to wiggle out of that iron grip.

"Eh, it's fine." Bomb Man snickered and patted Guts Man on the back.

"Well, all's forgiven." Guts Man put the little guy down.

"And don't freakin' try it again in the future!" Cut Man was obviously miffed, but his round face and cartoonish features just made it circle back into adorable.

"Can't make any promises." The big robot laughed to himself.

A minute later, all of the Robot Masters had gathered around. No sign of Dr. Wily storming the house yet… Perhaps they'll be able to escape the house entirely before it's too late.

"My children, I am proud to announce…" Dr. Light had a huge smile on his face. "That we are getting two new additions to the family!"

"Say WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Bomb Man pretended to be surprised, exaggeratedly at that.

"New siblings?!" Fire Man had to force himself to keep his head's flame extinguished.

"Now, I proudly introduce to you, DLN.'s 00A and 00B, Time Man and Oil Man!" Dr. Light swung the curtains open and moved over to reveal the two new faces before activating them.

One was clad in purple armor with bells and an alarm hammer on his head and a clock on his chest

The other was a bluish, almost black tint with a red scarf covering his mouth and a long tube for a left arm and a nozzle for a hand.

"Ayyyyyy, wassup, y'all?!" Oil Man stretched his arms out and looked at Time Man, who was looking down almost as if he didn't want to be there. "Look alive, bro."

"H-Hello…" Time Man's voice was quiet and had a hint of sorrow in it.

Roll started flapping her hands, a bright smile on her face. "Welcome to the family! I'm so happy to meet you!"

"What's the matter, babyface? Someone clean your clock earlier?" Cut Man chortled at his own pun.

"I… what?" Time Man didn't get the pun.

"Ain't y'all a fresh sight, huh? I'd offer t' shake yer hands, but as ye can see, I'm fresh out." Fire Man snorted.

"...Hm…" Time Man chuckled, but his mouth stayed shut. That joke he understood.

"See, you're warmin' up already!" Oil Man wrapped his arm around Time Man's shoulder.

Dr. Light stood to the right of Time Man. "Now, Time Man is just a prototype right now…"

"Like I needed to be reminded…" Time Man muttered under his breath.

"But he's a huge first step into time travel research! So far, he's able to slow the flow of time down, but as I work on improving him, he might be able to stop it entirely!"

"Wow… Even just slowing time sounds like it could have amazing applications in medical fields!" Ice Man was excited at the prospect.

"It… could?" Time Man blushed a little and held his hands behind his back. A bit of the sorrow in his eyes lifted.

"And I'm just a simple dude," Oil Man spoke for himself, "I'm a fill-up robot! If you're runnin' low on power and gotta use your backup power source, I've got a special oil blend just for y'all! Though, that means I can't run on oil myself…"

"He can fill you up if he isn't mucking about and doing skating tricks on his oil puddles, that is." Time Man gave a bit of snark.

"Hey, man, don't be hatin' just 'cuz I'm rad!" Oil Man crossed his arms.

"Welcome aboard, you two!" Guts Man gave both of them a great, warm embrace.

"Now ya better be careful 'round me, Oil Man. I don't want ya gettin' torched." Fire Man backed off a little bit.

"Of course, I ain't stupid!" Right after saying that, Oil Man accidentally stepped on his scarf and tripped over, falling flat on his face.

"Oof… Are you okay, deary?" Elec Man went up and helped the newbie up off the ground.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine, thanks, bro." Oil Man looked over at Rock. "This the little hero you been tellin' us about before they came in, Light-daddy?"

"Yes, I am!" Rock ran up and hugged the new Robot Masters himself.

"Nice to meet ya, Mega Man!" Oil Man patted his head.

"It's a great pleasure." Time Man needed the pressure, the amount of noise in the room was getting him overstimulated.

"Now, then, I have another announcement…" Dr. Wily hadn't struck yet… Maybe they had enough time to go elsewhere. "I'm going to go see a friend of mine and I was wondering if any of you would like to come."

"A friend? Who is it?" Rock never saw any of Dr. Light's friends other than Dr. Astil.

"Her name is Doctor Noele Lalinde, she lives not too far from here."

"So is it gonna be like a sleepover?" Bomb Man looked like a child with the wonder on his face.

"Yes, we will be staying over for the night! If you're willing to come over, then please, pack what you need!"

"Man, just took our first steps in this house and already we're goin' to another one. Not that I'm complainin'!" Oil Man stood there. "Well, Time and I ain't got any belongings except for our chargin' cords! Let's do it, bro!"

"If you insist…" Time Man didn't like it, but it seemed like everyone else was going and he was afraid of looking rude.

* * *

Doctor Lalinde picked up the phone in her office. "Hello? ...It's nice to hear your voice again, Light."

By sheer coincidence, Blues had been outside the office and stopped dead in his tracks. Why was Dr. Light calling Lalinde? Had he been found out?

Blues tried to keep his breathing steady as he planted himself against a wall outside of the office. He listened in on the conversation and tried to hear if there was anything of note.

"Oh, I'm sure it would be enjoyable. What time are you coming over?"

Coming over. Blues took a mental note of that. That's going to be his cue to leave.

"Just 'soon'? I guess it's not too long a drive, but you'll have to be more specific than that- one o'clock? Alright, sounds good to me."

Please don't mention him, please don't mention him, PLEASE don't mention him…

"Oh, I'd love to see your new robots! You know, I actually-"

No, no, NO!

"Not much time to talk? Well, I hope to talk more with you when you get here."

Blues kept his mouth shut as Lalinde hung up the phone. Making his way down to the front halls, he reached for the knob but was interrupted suddenly by someone.

"Going out, Blues?" Of course, it had to be Shoegaze. "You're gonna have to buy your own pizza because I'm not letting you mooch off of what money I got-"

"Now's not the time for jokes." Blues stepped out and made his way to the sidewalk.

"W-Wait, hold up, what's going on?!" Shoegaze gave chase, it was clear something was wrong.

"Doctor Light is coming over to this place! I can't let him see me! If he does, I'm through!"

"What the hell is your problem with him?! Did you do something to him?! You're always speaking of him like he's some horrible guy-" Shoegaze stared ahead once more.

"What is it this time?!" Blues looked in Shoegaze's direction but saw nothing at all.

"...Oh my god." Shoegaze seemed to be thinking harder than he normally would be. "Does this have to do with what I said when we met? That you were also made to be like your creator's child?"

"W-What?!" Blues looked confused, but also like he's been found out. "That's not it! I-"

"You were made by Dr. Light!" Shoegaze gave chase once again.

"Okay, first off, you didn't even know if I was going to say someone made me so I could be their child in the first place, you just assumed that's what I was going to say." Blues tried to deny the truth. "Secondly, you're using that point that you don't know is true and trying to connect it to another point that you literally just thought of now!"

"But am I wrong?! You can't keep lying to me forever, bud! The day you and I met, it was destined to be that your bullshit is my bullshit, and vice versa!"

"Fine! Do you want the truth?! Yes, Dr. Light created me!" Blues began to walk towards the city while he explained to Shoegaze part of his past.

"He made me with free will and I don't want to lose that! All his robots have their loyalty set to him, they have coding in them that forces them to listen to humans, but I lack all of that. That's what made me more human than other robots.

"But shortly after I was made and shown at the LIT Manual Design Contest, the lawmakers said that robots HAVE to have loyalty and said coding because… they said that without them, I have the 'potential' to become a criminal. It's always about 'potential''.

"Dr. Light had told me before that my solar core was faulty and that… And that I had to get repaired…" Blues tried not to cry, but it was getting harder and harder for him. "B-But after that whole thing, I couldn't trust him; I was afraid that he'd reprogram me…

"Do you get it now...? I… I don't want to lose that! Being able to think for myself, having full control of my actions, it's what keeps me liberated. If Dr. Light got rid of that part of me… I would only be a slave just like the rest of them."

Shoegaze was stunned silent. Even if he correctly assumed Dr. Light made him, nothing prepared him for what he heard. "Buddy…"

"Please… tell Lalinde to say nothing of me. I can't stay with her until he's gone." Blues wiped his eyes down with his scarf.

"But where are you going to stay? On the streets again?" Shoegaze sighed. "I mean, I could let you stay with me and Gil for the night…"

"Well, considering his… attitude towards robots, I'll have to say no."

"Dude, you gotta stay somewhere! I can at least try and convince him to have you over!"

"You're too kind, you know that, Shoey?" Blues chuckled.

* * *

"Come on everyone, let's go!" Dr. Light put on an expression of excitement to hide the fact he was dreading what was to come. How much time did he and everyone else have? He just had to see…

"So what's Lalinde like?" Bomb Man leaned up against the van, combing his mohawk to perfection. "She nice?"

"The nicest! But she's not very expressive."

Roll walked over to Dr. Light and pulled on his coat a little. "I can't find my necklace again… You guys can go on ahead and I'll get there on my bike." Her plan looked like it was going without a hitch.

"Oh, you're sure, Roll?"

"I wanna find it on my own this time. I'll be fine, promise!" Roll ran back inside, waving at them. "Have a safe trip!"

"You too when you find your necklace!" Dr. Light waved back.

"...Man, it just don't feel right to leave her alone." Oil Man poked his head out the van's window.

"Your intentions are pure, Oil Man, but Roll can take care of herself."

"C'mon, I gotta at least help!" Oil Man climbed out and ran towards the house.

"Please, she'll be just fine! We have to go soon!" Dr. Light was going into panic mode. This wasn't how it was supposed to go!

"I can get to Lalinde's place myself, too! My Oil Slider ain't just for showin' off!"

"That's not-" Dr. Light couldn't stop Oil Man from going into the house. That was when Time Man stepped out of the van.

"Do you need me to go and retrieve him, Doctor? It usually falls on me to keep him from doing something stupid when he's alone."

"...Rock, could you help Time Man with Oil as well?" Dr. Light looked over at the blue bot. He knew he could defend them if the need arrives.

"Yessir." Rock stepped out of the van and stood alongside his newest brother. "What's the Oil Slider like, anyway? It sounds like fun." Rock tried to hide his fear.

"You'll get to see it in action soon. If Light and the others have to leave this instant, we can ride on it with him." Time Man held onto Rock's arm as they went inside together.

Praying for the best, Dr. Light went into the van and started it up, pulling out of the driveway.

* * *

Roll held the necklace in her hand as she cut the string using a pair of scissors. Wrapping the tracker in the super-sticky putty, she attached each snipped end to it, making the necklace whole again. "He won't suspect a thing…"

Roll then painted the putty black so it would not look like part of the necklace. The dried paint would keep it from sticking to her and her clothes. Biting down on the crystal and flapping her hands, she closed her eyes, preparing herself for Wily's arrival.

* * *

"EY, ROLL! YOU NEED HELP?!" Oil Man yelled out and tried to find his sister, swinging open to door to her room but seeing no one. "ROLL?!"

"Oil Man, Dr. Light wishes for you to just drop it." Time Man called out as well.

"Bruh, I can't just let a girl do things on her own without even offerin' to help her out! That just ain't gentlemanly!"

"Since when were you a gentleman?" Time Man snickered.

"Ah, shaddup!" Oil Man shoved his brother and then opened the basement door.

"That's what I thought." Time Man followed him.

"C'mon, let's go!" Rock pulled on Oil's scarf.

"Boy, just lemme do my thing!" ]Oil proceeded, he didn't give a single care about what they were saying.

"What are you guys doing here?!" Roll ran out of the room she had been hiding out in.

"Oh, hey, ya found it!" Oil Man rubbed the back of his head.

"See? She can do it herself!" Rock tried to drag Oil Man out with him.

"Y-You two shouldn't be here! You should have gone with Dr. Light!" Roll yelled to her new siblings.

"What are you on about?" Time Man walked up to Roll. "Please, calm down."

"You guys have to get out of here as quickly as you can! Dr. Wily's-"

A myriad of explosions could be heard from upstairs. One after the other, like thunder and lightning, they struck the house.

"T-Too late!" Roll grabbed onto her broom. "Rock, please, keep Time and Oil safe, I'll go ahead!" She removed the head of the broom, unsheathing the spear's blade.

"R-Right!" Rock shifted into his armor, his hand retracting to reveal his Mega Buster. Several Crazy Razies ran down the stairs, which Mega Man shot in the head immediately.

"I'll go upstairs, I might be able to distract them from coming down too!" Roll sliced her way through several robots that got in her way.

"You two, get to the bunker!" Mega Man called back to Time and Oil, but Time Man was shivering and curled up, covering his ears. "W-What's wrong?"

"He's havin' a meltdown, the noise is just too much for him!" Oil Man wrapped his nozzle arm around Time Man, squeezing as tight as he could before lifting the purple bot off the ground. "I'll get him there myself, I think Dr. Light said there's an escape route under one of the beds when he was explaining this stuff to us...!"

"Okay, I'll hold them back!" Mega Man took aim, not going to let his resolve be broken.

* * *

"C'mon, Time, it'll be okay…" Oil Man set his brother down and hugged even tighter. "That feel better?"

Time Man sniffled and nodded. The pressure really helped him out when he was overstimulated, and since the noise wasn't as bad as it was earlier, he was able to uncover his ears.

"Alright, you know the code for the bunker? You think faster than me."

"Technically, I think the same speed as you. Just in slowed time." Time Man slowly rose, rubbing his temples and ringing the bells on his head as a purple tint covered his surroundings.

"Zero… five…" Time Man pressed each button. To him, he was going at his own pace, but to Oil Man, he was typing faster than any normal person would. And at that moment, the bunker door opened up. "There, let's go!"

"Awright!" Oil Man jumped in and pulled the door shut. "Now where's that trapdoor?" Oil Man tried to flip one of the beds over but struggled. "Help me out here, bro?"

"With pleasure." Time Man stood right next to his brother, and while he struggled, they were able to uncover the hidden door. "These beds were made to be lifted by Guts Man, I swear…"

"Tell me about it!" Oil Man lifted the door and jumped down into the underground path. "C'mon!"

Time Man turned around and closed the trap door behind them. "It's dark…"

"Well, that's what our eyes are for, right? We got special eyes!" Their eyes had lit up, letting them see through the dark like their eyes were flashlights.

"Still, he could have at least put a trail of lights down here-" Time Man stopped dead in his tracks. "Do you hear that?" The sound of marching boots rang through the halls.

"D-Don't tell me…" Oil Man shivered. "They found the other end of the escape route?!"

A whole troop of Sniper Joes ran down the halls, aiming and blocking their way.

"...You have a plan, Oil?" Time Man stood behind his brother.

"I always got a plan!" Oil Man sprayed a glob of oil onto the ground. "Let's show 'em how my Oil Slider works! Hop on!"

The brothers hopped onto the puddle, and they slid ahead and barrel right through the robots that blocked their way. "YA-HOOOO!"

"W-Wow, that actually worked!" Time Man laughed.

"Hell yeah, nothin' can stand in our way!" Oil Man hopped off of the slider and let it hit the last Sniper Joe right in the face. "Right over there, it's our way out!"

"We're going to make it!" Time Man smiled. The two of them ran on over to the ladder leading up. The halo of light shining through the trapdoor's crevices grew stronger the higher they climbed. This was it… They were free.

Time Man climbed out of the hole. Right in the middle of the forest by the road.

But they had no time to celebrate as they were stared down by two menacing silver robots.

* * *

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH THOSE!" Roll stabbed right through the shield of one of the Sniper Joes, grabbing the two I.C. chips from its hand.

"I can't let him get his hands on these…" Roll flipped them around. "SWN-00A" and SWN-00B". It would be best if they didn't come back to fight another day.

She turned around to tell Mega Man to escape, but she was blocked by several Mets, which shot the spear right out of her hand. Roll screamed in pain and held her wrist, kicking a chair at the Mets before going to retrieve it.

"Roll, what happened?!" Mega Man called from the basement. His programming couldn't let his sister go unharmed if he could help it.

"D-Did Time and Oil get to the bunker, Mega?!" Roll was less concerned about herself and more worried about their well-being. If they were taken by Wily, that would also be a big problem.

"Yeah, they should have gotten out by now!" Mega Man ran up and held Roll by the shoulder. "Let's get out of here-"

"I finally found you, you brats!" A familiar voice rang out as a flying saucer came floating down from the sky. "It's unfortunate that Light nor his other robots were here… But I'll take what I can get!"

Two familiar-looking robots jumped in, carrying the unconscious bodies of Time Man and Oil Man.

"B-Barga Man and Power Man?! But how?!" Roll looked at the two.

"They don't have any personalities right now, but they still follow my orders. Do you know how painstaking it is to try and recreate an entire I.C. chip?! So you best give the two you stole from me back or else I'll have them destroy you both with no mercy!"

"Gh…" Mega Man stood back, before aiming right at Wily's capsule. But Roll immediately stopped him.

"Take me with you. Just leave Rock alone." Roll tossed her spear to the side, held her hands out, and showed the I.C. chips.

Mega Man stopped in his tracks. This was the part of the plan he dreaded. Losing his sister. "R-Roll, please…"

"Don't you trust me, Mega…?" Roll's voice was quiet and stern.

With much grief, Mega Man stood down.

"Now that's a compromise I can accept! Come now, I shall take you and your two new brothers to my lair!" Wily's capsule opened up as the two personality-less robots carried her two brothers into it.

Roll turned back around and gave her brother a big hug, stealthily whispering into his ear. "I don't know what's going to happen to me, but… I know this will be the most help that you'll need."

Mega Man tightly hugged her back. "You're so brave, Roll…"

"Okay. Take me away." Roll broke the hug and walked onto Wily's capsule.

"So long, you stupid blue brat!" Wily's capsule closed before taking off to parts soon to be unveiled.


	9. Time Man

_**THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN UPDATED!**_

* * *

Mega Man held his head. He knew he had a mission, but… None of this felt real. His home was destroyed, his youngest brothers were taken from him, right before his very eyes.

A banging on the front door of his desolated house snapped him out of his trance. A familiar gravelly voice rang out. "Police! We're here to help!"

"Gil…?" Mega Man ran to the door and swung it open. "Gil! Roslyn!"

"What the hell happened to this place?" Gil's normally stoic composure was faltering.

"We got calls reporting multiple explosions and… Oh god…" Roslyn was appalled that anyone would do this to another person's home.

"It was Dr. Wily's fault, but now's not the time to talk! We have to get to Dr. Lalinde's house right now!"

"That damn Wily… if only we knew where he was hiding out!" Gil opened up the backdoor of the police car. "Get in!"

"Right!" Mega Man had the flames of bravery burning in his eyes as they took off.

* * *

Dr. Light had stationed himself outside, staring intensely at his phone as the police car parked in front of Lalinde's residence.

"Doctor Light!" Mega Man ran out and held onto his father. "D-Dr. Wily, he… Roll, Time Man, Oil Man…"

"I was hoping for the best, but unfortunately, nothing is certain. However," Dr. Light showed Mega Man his phone. "Roll's plan is working. We'll be able to save them."

"Where's he going?"

"That's what we're going to see. Please, follow me." Dr. Light held onto Mega Man's shoulder.

"We're coming in, too. We've been struggling to find out ourselves." Roslyn briskly walked towards the entrance, turning to see Gil hadn't been following her. "Come on!"

"I've had enough of robots for one day…" Gil shook his head.

"Gil, you're a grown-ass man, so quit bellyaching and get a move on!" Roslyn dragged Gil into the house herself.

* * *

"THAT BASTARD!" Cut Man punched the wall before clutching his hand. "Owwww…"

"Don't let your rage cloud your judgment." Dr. Light worked on uploading the tracking executable to Dr. Lalinde's computer.

"Dr. Light, please let us help Mega Man!" Ice Man stood right beside Dr. Light. "We can't let this atrocity stand!"

"I'll let you fight with him. But first, I need Lalinde's help so I can have everyone upgraded to be more fit for combat."

"You'll only have to worry about the first three." Elec Man smiled and patted his father on the shoulder. "Wily already upgraded me, Ice, and Fire."

"Wily did half of our job for us, it seems." Lalinde entered the room with bundles of blank blueprint paper in her arms. "Where is he now?"

"He's at… what the?" Dr. Light switched the map to a satellite view. "This place is the Castle Brothers Robot Manufacturing Plant..."

* * *

"Come on, you're not chickening out, are you, Tom?" Albert snickered.

"What? No, I'm not! This is such a prodigious facility, though… I'm worried about screwing this up." Thomas fidgeted slightly.

"It's just a job shadow, it's not like we have to set an example for ourselves." Al patted Tom on the back. "We'll do just fine!"

"I hope so…" Tom looked down.

"You know, I can't hold your hand through everything." Albert's fingers wrapped around his partner's hand. "I'm not going to be there every time you're nervous about something. What are you going to do when I'm not there and you have to face it yourself?"

"I…" Thomas was stumped. As much as he didn't want to admit, he could barely even function without Al.

"I knew it." Giving Tom a quick peck on the cheek, Al let go of his hand. "You have to teach yourself to not be so damn hopeless, you've got to stand up tall, have a little confidence in yourself."

Tom was as red as a beet, shaking his head to snap out of the brief trance he went into after that kiss. "Y-Yeah, thank you…"

"Now come on, the CBRMP awaits us!"

* * *

"It was shut down a long time ago because of unforeseen circumstances, and the building sat abandoned ever since. Dr. Wily and I had gone there before we split up…" Dr. Light explained.

"So it's important on a personal level for both of you." Roslyn patted Mega Man on the shoulder. "Knock 'em dead, kid."

"I have a feeling it won't be as easy as sending Mega Man to the plant…" Dr. Lalinde put the blueprint sheets down before going up to her computer and quickly inserting a few lines of code into the console. A huge green circle appeared around the area of Dr. Wily's base. "As I thought, it's a dead zone for our teleporter."

"H-How did you do that?" Dr. Light looked up in awe.

"I use this teleporter for sending Quake Woman to stop earthquakes. Finding dead zones lets me know where to send her quicker." Dr. Lalinde typed another line of code, and then two blue circles appeared in two areas further from the plant. "And there's what's causing our dead zone."

"Why do you have that, too…?" Gil was getting suspicious.

"Not every dead zone has an innocent cause." Dr. Lalinde's voice was cold and matter-of-fact.

"The signals causing the dead zone are coming from an old clock tower and an abandoned oil rig. He's really unsubtle about this," Dr. Light sighed, "Oil Man should be weak to Fire Storm, but Time Man… I'm not so sure what his weakness is."

"Well, I'm going to find out. Send me to the clock tower first!" Mega Man stepped into the teleporter.

"Are you sure, Mega Man?" Dr. Light held onto his son's shoulders. "You're a brave boy, I know that, but not knowing his weakness is risky."

"I'll just use what I have until I find out. No big deal." Mega Man smiled.

"Alright… I'm proud of you, son." Dr. Light smiled. "Good luck."

* * *

Mega Man looked around the inside of the tower. The methodical ticking of clockwork echoed throughout. If it weren't for his current mission, it'd be relaxing.

"Just up ahead there are two Shield Guards followed by a Shotman." Dr. Light's drone teleported in. "The Shield Guards are invulnerable from the front but vulnerable in the back."

"Got it, but I don't have time to wait!" Mega Man quickly switched to the Hyper Bomb. "I'm going to try something out!"

Running up ahead, Mega Man shot two bombs out of his Mega Buster, right at the Shield Guards' fronts, and shielded his eyes when they exploded. Out of the smoke, the shields were completely decimated.

"Behold, a peeled Shield Guard!" Mega Man shifted back to his normal solar bullets to take them out.

"I implore you to never call them that again…" Dr. Light groaned.

* * *

Within the Castle Brothers Robot Manufacturing Plant, Dr. Wily brought the captured Robot Masters to a makeshift prison chamber, originally meant for testing robots.

"Welcome to my humble abode. It's not much, but it will serve its purpose." Dr. Wily escorted his three captives into three different cells. "Barga Man, Power Man, stand guard for me."

"As you wish, sir." Barga Man bowed down, his original I.C. chip reinstalled.

"I-If I break out, I swear I'm gonna beat ya-" Oil Man kicked at the glass barrier before clutching his foot. "GAH, DAMMIT!"

"Why…? Why must I live with these incomplete powers…?" Time Man held onto his head, openly weeping. His Time Slow wasn't enough to defeat the two Robot Masters who took him and his brother.

"_You_ are of particular interest." Wily walked up to Time Man's cell. "No doubt Thomas has used you to attempt building _my_ time stopper model. I'm sure he won't mind if I… _borrow_ your configurations. Just some friendly bartering."

"What? Yours? That can't be, I'm… I'm Dr. Light's robot, the blueprints are his-" As if only being able to use a fraction of his power wasn't enough, now he was a poor man's version of an existing blueprint? He just couldn't accept that.

"Of course you say that! Thomas NEVER credits me when I do something right!" Wily began to scream. "He only gives me credit for all of his _SCRAPS!"_

Time Man covered his ears, the noise getting way too much for him. "Prove it to me. Show me how much you've actually accomplished compared to Dr. Light!"

"Don't listen to him, bro!" Oil Man shouted at him. "He's probably just pulling it out of his ass so he can get you on his side!"

That was what drew Dr. Wily over the edge. Reaching into his pocket, he locked eyes with Oil Man and unfolded several blueprints. Time machines, buster designs, even an entire Robot Master with the working name of "Light Man" could be seen on each of these blueprints. "Proof enough, my boy?"

Time Man looked Wily in the eye and quietly, he begged, "Please, give me this power…"

"Time, no!" Oil Man punched at the glass. "Don't you know what he's gonna do to you if you agree?!"

"Ever since I came into this world, I was a failure! I couldn't even slow time equal to what Dr. Light expected! If this will help me finally fulfill my true purpose, give it to me!"

"NO!" Oil Man cried out.

"I can upgrade you, my boy! I'll show you what true genius is!" Dr. Wily smirked and opened the cell door for Time Man.

"Give it to me, then! Give me your word, your promise! I don't care what happens to me! I want to be more than just a series of disappointments!" Time Man began tearing up again.

"TIME!" Oil Man shouted.

"You're in for a treat!" Wily ushered Time Man out of the room, letting Barga Man and Power Man guard the two remaining cells.

"G-Goddammit! Why won't he listen?!" Oil realized something. "Roll, you haven't said a thing this whole time..."

Roll was staying quiet, biting down on her necklace, and searching for something under her skirt…

"Ah-ha!" Roll quietly spoke to herself as she pulled off a piece of duct tape on her leggings, revealing a sharp piece of scrap metal and a bicycle chain. Now to put her plan into action.

Approaching the glass barrier, Roll swang the scrap metal as hard as she could. It was the right shape and thickness to work as a glass breaker… That was what Roll hoped.

And that was what Roll got as it shattered enough for her to punch more holes in it and jump out.

"Prisoner has escaped." Barga Man unsheathed his claws, and Power Man's chainsaw revved. There was no way to split the two up this time…

Roll had to think fast, but just like the first time they fought, she had to take care of the chainsaw guy first.

Ducking under Barga Man's first lunge, Roll tossed the scrap metal into Power Man's left eye. Of course, Power Man didn't even flinch, but his vision was still impaired. Power Man swung down onto Roll's head… or so he thought he would, but butchered depth perception meant his aim was off. Roll used this to her advantage and used the bike chain to whip at his other eye, smashing it and completely blinding him.

Power Man went into panic mode. He flailed about, swinging his chainsaw at nothing and hitting nothing. Roll sprinted towards Oil Man's cell and gave a whistle. Power Man ran after the noise, before swinging right into the glass and shattering it.

"Roll… you too damn smart for Wily's bull." He chuckled nervously. "Where'd you even get that stuff in the first place?"

"Basement. I'm working on a bird robot, didn't Light tell you?" Roll jumped onto Power Man's back to try and remove the piece of scrap metal. Barga Man came charging towards her, but she backflipped right off the bigger robot, resulting in Barga Man slicing Power Man's head off.

"I won't let you escape, not like-" Barga Man was about to go into a monotone rant, but...

"Geronimo!" Oil Man came sliding right into him, jumping up and kicking him square in the face. "Let's get outta here!"

"Right!" Roll took the piece of scrap metal from Power Man's decapitated head before they busted out the door.

* * *

"Here," Dr. Wily laid Time Man down on an operation table and held onto his head, trying to find a power dial or other similar switch. "Are you nervous?"

"Y-Yes, I am… But… This is what will make me whole." Time Man wiped his eyes off.

"There…" Dr. Wily found the dial. "I can hold onto your hand until you're powered off if you wish." His voice had no malice behind it, no ill motive could be heard… Dr. Wily genuinely wanted to help this robot.

"Yes, please…" Time Man held on tight.

"Alright. Here we go…" Slowly, everything started to dim, before complete darkness entered Time Man's view.

* * *

"This place is a maze… The hell are we even?" Oil Man sighed and kept his buster aimed in front of him.

"Don't ask me, we entered this place from the ceiling so I can't even backtrack." Roll kept the scraps on-hand. If only she had the weapon Dr. Light gave to her.

"I'm bouta just start opening doors and see where that'll take us…" Oil Man fidgeted with his scarf a little bit.

"Well, can't hurt to try that big door at the end of the hall first." Roll cracked her knuckles before the door opened automatically.

Behind that door was a metal walkway, hanging above a massive room with all sorts of strange weapons and deactivated robots.

"Man, he's really been busy, huh?" Oil Man poked at a giant yellow robot of a rather slimy consistency.

"Don't touch anything! They could be dangerous." Roll checked for anything else she hid under her skirt. "The only other thing I have is a half-empty box of fireplace matches." She removed a piece of tape on her leggings, taping the scraps in the matchbox's place.

"...You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" Oil Man looked over at Roll, practically grinning under that scarf.

"Arson?"

"Arson!" Oil Man began to squirt his oil onto everything in the room.

"Thought so." Roll opened the box and pulled out a match, attempting to light it, but struggling. "Come on you dang thing…!"

"Lemme try." Oil held his hand out.

"If you wanna blow yourself up, sure!" Roll gave a fake smile and looked like she was about to hand it to him before going back to trying to light the match.

"Damn, you really gotta do everything yourself?" Oil Man crossed his arms.

"You trying to help me landed you here!" The hostility in Roll's voice was apparent.

"I ain't knew Wily was coming! Maybe y'all shoulda told me!" Oil Man argued.

"Be honest, Oil, would you have gone with Light or would you have tried to play hero if you knew before he struck?" Roll glared at him.

"I…" Oil Man scratched his head. "Hmph…"

"That's what I thought." The match's tip ignited as Roll held it up into the air. "Okay, I'll count down to one, and as soon as I throw the match, we're turning around and hightailing it."

"My Oil Slider will speed us up on the double!" Oil Man gave a thumbs up and sprayed one more puddle on the ground. "Ready!"

"Okay… Five. Four. Three. Two… One!" Roll threw the match down directly onto one of the oil-stained machines but… where was the light? There was supposed to be flames! The match had been mysteriously snuffed out.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that." A familiar voice came from behind Roll as she was knocked to the ground by a fist flying right at her face, dropping the matchbox.

"ROLL!" Oil Man turned around and saw his brother. "T-Time Man, what the hell are you-"

"I'm finally… complete. I can fulfill my purpose! It was all thanks to Doctor Wily for succeeding where Doctor Light failed!" Time Man had tears streaming down his face, with genuine glee in his tone. "I owe that man my life. And that is why I must stop both of you!"

"You're outta your goddamn mind, bro!" Oil Man went to punch him, only for his nozzle arm to be tied up around his normal arm the next instant after he saw Time Man's bells ring. "W-What the hell?!"

"This is more than the Time Slow… This… This is the Time Stop!" Time Man dragged Oil Man over to Roll and then tightened the nozzle arm around them. Improvised binds.

"Let me go, you...!" Roll tried to reach back to her leggings, but Time Man's bells rang and the next moment, "W-Where did-"

"Are you looking for these?" Time Man was holding the scraps in his hands now.

"You're doing an amazing job, Time Man!" Wily called down from the metal walkway. "And as for you two… I'm going to have to do speedy work to keep you from causing any further trouble for me…" He climbed down the ladder. "Especially you, girl. You're the biggest threat right now, and you haven't even had your REAL weapon with you!"

"M-Mega Man…" Roll closed her eyes. She didn't want to surrender to them, but against a robot that can do anything within frozen time, there was nothing she could do. "Please, hurry…!"

* * *

"Take your time, Mega Man, the pendulums require very precise jumps to get by…" Dr. Light's eyes looked left and right with each pendulum that appeared.

"I don't have time for this! I have to hurry!" Mega Man jumped over one pendulum, landing on a platform that started to count down. When it reached one, Mega Man jumped to the next, and it exploded. He had to repeat this process several times, but with how much time this wasted, he was starting to panic.

"Just calm down, breathe, and you'll get through it."

Mega Man jumped to the next bomb platform, the pendulum just barely hitting his head.

"Up ahead, there's a ladder. That's the last one you'll have to climb!" Dr. Light tried to encourage Mega Man.

Mega Man nodded and jumped on the last platform before reaching the ladder. "Just behind this door?" Mega Man wiped his brow as he threw a Hyper Bomb at the Sniper Joe that blocked his way.

"Yes, Time Man's arena should be there. I still don't know his weakness, however…"

"I'll find out, no problem!" Mega Man smiled and opened the door in front of him.

Behind the doors, it was an empty arena. The sun was shining through the clock of this olden clock tower, giving it a rather beautiful if trippy inverted look. But where was Time Man? He should be around here somewhere-

"You're early for your appointment." Suddenly, Time Man's nonchalant voice came from right behind Mega Man.

"H-Huh?" Mega Man immediately spun around to see his brother. Where did he come from? "What appointment, Time Man?"

"Oh, joy! By being early, you have given us an extra 0.3 seconds!" Time Man's bells rang before he instantly popped up in front of Mega Man's face.

"A-AAAH-" Mega Man fell back, gripping onto his chest like he was about to short circuit. "What's going on…?"

"Your little mind probably can't comprehend, but Doctor Wily has given me exactly what I wanted... His time travel research fell into the wrong hands, Doctor Light was not equipped to give me my true function..."

"Time Man, I know Light said you were a prototype, but Wily's just using that to manipulate you!"

"Doctor Light stole his research, and can't even be bothered to try and apply it to me correctly! Wily finally allowed me to accomplish my purpose! My abilities are finally perfected, with the ability to stop time!"

"S-Stop time?" So that's what was going on… Mega Man shuddered a little bit.

"That's right. I'm almost tempted to humor you by only using my Time Slow because you couldn't possibly stand a chance within the realms of frozen time." Time's bells rang again, and the next moment, Mega Man suddenly found himself getting tripped.

"WAH-" Mega Man fell flat on his face. "Owwww…"

"But, I don't have the time to just toy with you. Prepare to die!" In another instant, Mega Man found himself shot full of arrow-like blasts. The Blue Bomber screamed in pain as he tried to figure out what weapon to use.

The bells and hammer…

Mega Man switched to the Thunder Beam, panting and standing up on shaky feet.

"Go ahead, push your luck! Nothing is going to help you!" Time Man's bells began to ring again…

Mega Man took aim and fired. The Thunder Beam seemed to be unaffected by the Time Stop. The next moment, Time Man was hit, jittering around as his bells and hammer sparked with electricity.

"W-Why you…!" Time Man's bells rang, but time only started to slow down. The excess electricity was disrupting his abilities too!

"That's his weakness!" Mega Man aimed the Thunder Beam again, but Time Man was still moving disorientingly fast.

"When I get my hands on you, I'll ground the static in my body with your CORPSE!" Time Man was slowly losing it now. He jumped up into the air and began to shoot down at Mega Man with more buster shots.

"I'll get you back, Time Man! No matter what!" Mega Man fired off two more beams, which when straight for the bells on Time Man's head like they were thunder rods.

Time Man nearly shrieked, clutching his head as he spasmed from the static overload in his body.

"I'm sorry, Time, but this is for your own good!" Mega Man switched back to normal and slowly stepped towards his brother, opening his arms up.

"I PROMISED HIM… I WOULD TAKE YOU DOWN!" Time Man rammed into his opponent, knocking Mega Man to the ground. Time Man dug his fingers into Mega Man's cheeks, electrocuting Mega Man and draining the static out of his own system.

"T-T-T-T-Time Man!" Mega Man tried to lift his arms but failed.

"I owe him my life for making me perfect…!" Time Man's bells began to ring. He had to finish this off with a Time Stop.

But… Time Man's face twisted with fear.

"N-No…! Why isn't anything stopping?!" Time Man looked at everything. The clock was still ticking. The cogs were still turning. Mega Man was still breathing. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!"

"Time Man…?" Mega Man stood up and tried to get closer.

"No…! GET AWAY!" Time Man fell back and held his arm out in a desperate attempt to keep his brother away. "MY TIME STOP! YOU BROKE IIIIT!"

Mega Man stopped. Time Man was wailing with sorrow, tears coming down his face in streams.

"I… I was finally able to d-do what I was made to do! Now I'm back to where I started! Am I cursed to always be this way, to always be useless until the day I'm scrapped?!"

Mega Man knelt down and embraced Time Man, hugging him as tight as he could. "Shhhh… Don't cry, it's okay…" Mega Man rubbed his back. "You're not worthless. Not even close."

"Y-You're just saying that…!" Time Man's voice was still incredibly shaky. "I… I abandoned all of you because he gave me what I wanted…! I let him tamper with me without even reprogramming me…"

Mega Man tried to hug his brother as hard as his body could allow. But this new information was terrifying… If Wily could drive a robot to follow him without changing their loyalty, what else was he capable of?

"I'm sorry… I hurt you, I hurt Oil, I even hurt Roll…"

"You hurt-" Mega Man almost snapped, but caught himself.

"W-Wily told me to do it… I'm sorry… Whatever abuse you want to heap onto me, I deserve all of it…"

"No, Time! That's not it at all!" Mega Man pressed his forehead onto Time Man's. "I forgive you… I'm happy that you're able to come back."

"I want my daddy…" Time Man sniffled, his mannerisms becoming more and more infantile.

"Don't worry, you'll see him real soon." Mega Man gave Time Man a gentle smile.


	10. Oil Man, The Emerald Spears

This chapter was a lot of fun to write this time, judging that I was able to do all 4000+ words of it within the span of yesterday and today.

* * *

"Doctor Light!" Mega Man's feet hit the ground, holding onto Time Man as he was back in Lalinde's lab. "Time Man wants to see you!"

"I know, I saw through the drone." Dr. Light walked over and hugged the purple bot as tightly as he could. "I'm sorry, my child… I know I couldn't give you what you wanted-"

"P-Please… save Oil Man and Roll… That's the only thing I want right now…" Time Man, despite the amount of literal pressure being put on him, was still shaking like a leaf.

"I will, don't you worry!" Mega Man turned around to go to the teleporter, but he seethed in pain before being stopped by Dr. Lalinde.

"Oh, no you don't. Not in the shape you're in, anyway." Lalinde held onto Mega Man's shoulder. "We'll need to get you repaired before anything."

"B-But I have to hurry!" Mega Man looked dejected.

"Don't worry, Rocky boy! I'll take yer place!" Fire Man stepped forward and… he'd give a thumbs up if he had hands.

"R-Really?" Mega Man shut his eyes and beamed. "You're a life-saver, Fire Man…"

"Hey now, it's nuthin'. If I get got out there, or if I just ain't done with it by the time yer repaired, then they can send ya in if ya wish!"

"Selfless like a true hero." Dr. Light activated the teleporter. "Good luck out there, Fire Man!"

"Yee-haw!" Fire Man jumped right in there. He was ready for anything.

* * *

"Rrrreally cookin'!" Fire Man belted out a catchphrase before he hit the deserted, sandy ground. "Catchphrase's probably gonna need some work." Fire Man aimed both his arm cannons in two different directions.

"C'mon out, evildoers!" His Fire Storm mercilessly blasted across the terrain as it hit two cacti, burning them to ash and revealing two Mets under them.

"How did you know they were there?" Dr. Light was in shock.

"C'mon, lookit the smog in the sky! Ain't no plant of any kind growin' here! That, and they were too cartoony to be real in the first place!" Fire Man snickered and jumped across a few huge pipelines jutting out of the ground.

"This place is gonna be easy peas-EEEEEK!" Fire Man slipped on a particularly oily patch of ground, his head torch setting it all alight. If he weren't fireproof, he'd probably have failed immediately.

"Oof… Just… be careful, Fire Man." Dr. Light covered his eyes from the second-hand embarrassment.

"Yes, daaaaad." Fire Man rolled his eyes, emerging from the fire no problem. At least he didn't have to worry about slipping now.

* * *

Time Man sat down by one of the operating tables, still trembling from earlier.

"You need me to give you a hug, buddy?" Guts Man sat down next to him and rubbed his back.

Silently, Time Man nodded. Guts Man cracked his knuckles and almost bearhugged the little guy. He could feel Time Man slowly go still, his meltdown finally subsiding.

"Okay, now let's get down to business." Lalinde looked over at Mega Man, who was deactivated and laid down on a table. "Tempo, do you mind helping Ice Man and Elec Man with repairing their brother?"

"Mm." Tempo only grunted in response as she equipped her drill. "First we remove the armor and see just how deep the injuries go."

"As for the other three, we'll need to come up with upgrades that cover your weaknesses." Lalinde sat down. "Now then, for-"

"I don't have any weaknesses to cover! All you gotta give me is bigger bombs!" Bomb Man smiled and laid down on the table.

"Is that really it?" Lalinde looked up at the other two unupgraded robots.

"I mean, all he does is throw bombs, it's not like there's a big honkin' flaw in that. Not like me." Cut Man shrugged. "I can only throw one pair of scissors at a time, and I'm left open!"

"And my abilities only work if there's anything for me to throw in the area! Even if I could throw Cut Man at everything, that puts him in danger!" Guts Man griped. "And sometimes, things are just too fast for me to throw huge blocks at in the first place."

"Well, then we'll start with Bomb Man, since his upgrades will be the simplest." Lalinde took out a blueprint.

"Uh…" Gil was just standing there with Roslyn. He looked a bit antsy.

"What, you wanna help with the robots you've had enough of for one day, too?" Roslyn snickered.

"Shut it, the more hands they have, the faster they get done, and the faster Wily gets brought to justice, right?" Gil sighed.

"Well, I only have the bare minimum knowledge of robotic anatomies, like the I.C. chip and core, so I can't do anything big." Roslyn walked over to the wounded Mega Man. "I could help out with fixing Mega Man, but only for holding stuff."

"Then I'll help with upgrades." Gil cracked his neck.

"Pfff, what could you do? What do you even know? You don't even like robots!" Cut Man sneered.

"Lalinde, could I suggest something for the woodcutter? First, the obvious, we let him throw two scissors. Second, we upgrade his legs, so he can jump higher and jump off the walls." Gil stared Cut Man in the eyes.

"Hm… Being a lumberjack robot, that could have good applications both inside and outside of battle." Lalinde nodded.

"Can you, uh… Give me like, big fudgin' scissors too?" Cut Man looked up at Gil with those big ol' eyes.

"That too. And as for the Hulk over here, we could have him be able to generate blocks that he could use to throw. And for any enemies that are too fast to effectively throw things at, we can allow him to spawn Metalls, those buggers can shoot pellets three at a time."

"...I very much like the Metall idea." Guts blushed. He had a soft spot for the little guys.

"Man, and I thought you were just a stick in the mud!" Roslyn smiled. "Where'd you get the smarts to think about this stuff?"

"It's personal." Gil shook his head, a trace of sorrow could be seen behind his dark blue eyes.

* * *

"FIIIRE!" Fire Man blasted another puddle of oil, dodging the Changkey that a Hothead tossed at him before blasting the bigger bot down. "Didn't Wily tell ya not to fight fire with fire?!" Climbing up another ladder, he saw yet another Hothead. "Jeez, how many o' these things were put in this place? Did Oil Man even allow it? He'd be burnt to smithereens if he were out here!"

"If I had to guess, it was Wily's decision. He probably put them all here assuming it'd be Mega Man coming out to fight, so he'd be destroyed by any of the oil fires." Dr. Light's drone went ahead of Fire Man. "Two Screw Driver turrets and an oil puddle are coming up next."

"Time Man really was a frightening guy to fight…" Fire Man climbed up, dodging the bullets that were shot at him before using the fireball circling him from his Fire Storm to burn both one of the turrets and the oil puddle under his feet. "You think we'll be able to fix his Time Stop, doc?"

"I'm not sure. If anyone knew how to do it, it'd be Dr. Wily, not me." Dr. Light shook his head. "But even so, his Time Slow makes him a valuable asset to us."

"Yeah, no doubt about it, I just hate seein' the boy sad is all." Fire Man looked across the metal catwalk in front of him, seeing a three-floor tower in front of him. "This the final stretch?"

"Yes, just get across this area, into that tower, and on the topmost floor, you'll be face-to-face with Oil Man."

"Awright, that'll be easy-" Fire Man looked before he stepped this time. "...peasy, lemon squeezy!"

* * *

"Yeah. So, just don't even bring him up to anyone there. Alright?" Shoegaze sighed. "...Thanks, Lalinde." He hung up. "Nothing to worry about anymore, dude."

"Epic." Blues popped out of a nearby trash can, a cat leaping off of his head. "No, come baaaaack-" He reached out but knocked himself and the trash can over. "Damn-"

"You didn't _have_ to be in there, you know." Shoegaze adjusted his visor beanie and picked Blues up off the ground.

"Just practicing for my potential future if Dr. Light found out." Blues pulled on his scarf and started biting down on it.

"Dude, you can just go to the next city or something if that happens." Shoegaze sighed and unzipped his jacket. "Why does it have to be so hot?"

"Hm?" Blues stopped biting down on his scarf so he could talk. "I got a hoverboard if you want to feel the wind, dude."

"Wait, a hoverboard-" Shoegaze almost forgot about how Blues was carrying that duffel bag with him everywhere. "Is- Is it in there-"

"Yeah, here!" Blues unzipped the bag and pulled it out, the hoverboard unfolding in thirds and locking into place.

"oH JESUS-" That's a big-ass hoverboard! Shaped more like a surfboard than a skateboard.

"C'mon, we can both ride on it at once!" Blues set it down on the pavement and hopped on.

"J-Just give me a minute-" Shoegaze stood up, leaning against a car that was parked on the sidewalk in an attempt to keep himself on his feet.

"Don't hurt yourself, man." Blues was about to ignite the hoverboard's engine but immediately, Shoegaze dived down and covered his head. "Dude, what the-"

"Emerald Spears, right across the street, duck down and shut up!" Shoegaze looked under the car he was just leaning on. "It's her, that's the bitch who pointed a gun at my head! And that f***boy she's with!"

"Huh?" Blues looked out from behind the car, he saw a woman with long orange hair and a man with buzzed brown hair leaving a fancy little diner. He knelt down and whispered to Shoegaze, "Them?"

"Yeah…" Shoegaze had his phone out and was dialing Stern's number.

"Let's go after them." Blues picked up his hoverboard.

"What?!" Shoegaze tried to keep his voice down. "We'll get shot!"

"But we'll find out where they're hiding out, too. Imagine how Stern would react when we, no, _you_ find their base! …And I wanna draw dicks on their walls."

"Alright, you got me!" Shoegaze crawled onto the hoverboard. "Let's go…"

"Yippee-kay-yay." Blues turned the board around and ignited the engine. "Let's do it!"

* * *

"Leave me alone leave me alone leave me alone-" Fire Man ran past the Big Eye and dived into the door to the final corridor. "Phew! I am beaaaat." Fire Man laid on his back.

"You're right there, Fire Man! Just behind that door now-"

"Yeah, yeah, dad… Hoo, I dunno how Rock does it. Other than being made for it, I guess." Fire Man kicked himself onto his feet and walked into the arena. There were a lot of pipes and… half-pipes?

"YAAAHOOOO!" A scream came from the air as Oil Man came shooting out of one of the pipes with his Oil Slider, pulling off a Christ Air backflip before landing in the arena perfectly. "The hell? Where's Mega Man?"

"Oh, he's a bit occupied with bein' broken right now, so I'm just fillin' in!"

"Hey, if ya wanna fill-up, you're gonna have to look elsewhere! Don't make me hafta hurt ya, 'cuz fire's not allowed here!"

"Tell that to all the Hotheads I done had to go through!" Fire Man shrugged. "Fire seems totally acceptable here!"

"Wait, whaddya MEAN Hotheads?!" Oil Man was confuzzled. "Damn old man just puttin' fire bots in a place that's finna blow up if the wrong area gets blazed!"

"Now then, why don'cha just come quietly, you clearly don't want no trouble!" Fire Man stood tall.

"Nah, man. I got my own orders to follow!" Oil Man squirted an oil puddle onto the ground. "IT'S SHOWTIME!"

"Fine! Prepare to get smoked!" Fire Man took careful aim at the ground and shot into it, causing several waves of fire to shoot out on either side of him.

"OH-" Oil Man immediately got burnt, the flames erupting from under his Oil Slider and setting him ablaze. "SHIIIIT!"

"Man, it just feels unfair havin' to do this. But, eh, we gotta deactivate that anti-teleportation field." Fire Man walked over to the charred Oil Man. "C'mon, let's get ya fixed up at the lab." He tried his best to carry his youngest brother without any hands to do so with before he was teleported back.

* * *

"Well done, for your first time out battling, that was almost flawless." Dr. Light went to grab Oil Man.

"Don'chu touch him! He's still burnin' hot and I think we could use an extinguisher before he gets worse!" Fire Man ran with him towards a repair table.

"R-Right, Ice Man!" Dr. Light ran behind Fire Man and stopped at the doorway to the repair bay.

"Got it!" Ice Man got to work, blowing his Ice Slasher right on Oil Man. "There!"

"Repairing him's gonna be hell and a half." Fire Man wiped his brow. "I need a rest, all that running's left me drained."

"Go on, you'll need to be at peak energy if we're going to have to storm the plant." Dr. Light patted Fire Man on the shoulder. "How's Rock doing?"

"We're done with him." Tempo activated the power button in Mega Man's head before closing his scalp.

"Nn…" Mega Man squinted before his eyes opened. "Alright, I'm feeling much better n- WAH!" He rolled off the table when he saw Oil Man right next to him. "W- Oh- That means Fire Man won! We can raid Wily's base now!"

"Once the repairs are done, it will happen. The upgrades are just about finished, however." Lalinde put Guts Man's helmet on his head. "There. Just throw your helmet down and a Neo Metall will come out."

"What's so Neo about them anyway?" Guts Man tested it out by throwing his helmet onto the ground. Another helmet immediately replaced the one on his head.

"They can walk. That's about it."

A small Met popped out of the helmet on the floor, two yellow shoe-like feet following.

"O-Oh my god…!" Guts Man knelt down and held his hand out. "A little friend!"

The Met stepped onto his hand and Guts Man put it back on his head.

"I love it so much!" Guts Man seemed pleased with his new powers, the Met withdrawing into the helmet and disappearing. "They're going to be so much help in the construction yard too!"

"Hey, where's Gil and Roslyn?" Mega Man looked around.

"Someone called Gil about two members of the Emerald Spears." Elec Man sighed. "Honestly, the world we live in is such a horrible place."

"So it's our job to make it better!" Mega Man smiled innocently.

"...Yeah. That's right." Elec Man smiled. "We're all ready to help you in that endeavor, Mega Man."

* * *

Shoegaze tried to steady his breathing and keep his voice down. He and Blues stopped right around the corner where the two Emerald Spears goons parked.

"I don't know why they had to assign us to this dusty-ass place." The lady sighed and slammed her car's door shut. "Couldn't you have convinced Xander to station us outside the slums, Theo?"

"I, uh, I think it's because no one would really think to check here, Simone." Theo sighed. He didn't sound like a very enthusiastic guy, more like he was being dragged with these people.

"Whatever, we need to contact Xander anyhow. I got information that we need to relay to Harvey. It's about the LIT Manual Design Contest's redo and we're going to crash the place." Simone swung open the dilapidated doors of an abandoned warehouse.

"Y-Yeah, just heard they're gonna invade the stadium when that contest thing is redone." Shoegaze quietly crawled up to the warehouse with a marker. "Yeah, the street we're on? You'll see a big dumb warehouse with a bunch of cartoon wangs and profanities drawn in the front." Shoegaze began vandalizing the walls himself. "I'll be around there too, just in case you're really not sure where it is."

Blues gave him an OK sign. He didn't want to be in any way involved with whatever news story Shoegaze would be a part of if it ever came.

"Okay, get here ASAP, because apparently the woman's got information on the contest that's gonna aid them in invading it and she's going to bring it up with some guy named Xander." Shoegaze hung up and immediately made a mad dash in the opposite direction. "Gogogogogogo-"

"Right, I'll see ya later then, dude." Blues threw his hoverboard back down and took off. "You be careful, don't you die on me!"

"Don't worry, I won't." Shoegaze hid in a nearby trash can.

* * *

"So what do you need to tell Xander?" Theo held onto Simone's hand.

"I was able to use our members in government to give us the inside scoop. The president of the United States herself is going to be there at the redo."

"What?! The president?! L-Lilian Bellamy?!"

"Exactly. Do you know what this can mean for us?" Simone smirked. "Not only are we going to be able to hold the greatest minds behind the robots hostage, but their technophile president as well!"

"But this sounds too risky… What'll happen if they catch us? We might as well be committing a war crime!"

"After that Doctor Wily started taking robots and causing havoc for humans, it's a war that they asked for!" Simone punched the wall. "Our cause is justified! If they still want to protect robots after seeing all the damage they've caused and could cause in the future, then we deserve to fight back!"

"Uh… Can I play devil's advocate? Humans have caused even more damage in the past… So that's not the best argument. You need to polish your reasoning, especially since Harvey's probably not going to let any of us hurt anyone and he'll make us debate instead."

"Forget reasoning! The sheeple in this country are stupid! As long as we throw in buzzwords and intelligent-sounding nonsense, they'll be shepherded right to our cause!"

"That sounds really short-sighted." Theo twiddled his thumbs. "I think maybe you should start asking Harvey for actual debate advice."

"Don't have to." Simone opened up one of the doors in the warehouse. A lone laptop and modem were set up. "Your brother will be on the other line, so you better be-"

"Put your hands up." The sound of several guns cocking came from behind the two.

"What-" Simone turned around. Four different people in all-black suits were right behind them.

"I said put your hands up." The shortest one in front, who was still six feet tall flat, was the one talking.

"Or else what?" Simone spread her arms and opened her hands, two smoke grenades falling out of her sleeves before she pulled the pins and threw them down. "COME ON, THEO!"

"WAH-" Theo and her both jumped out the window as the four people in black chased after them, gunshots ringing out. "TH-THEY HAVE GUNS THAT SHOOT BULLETS!"

"That's gonna be a pain, definitely." Simone heard police sirens ring out. "Shit, the fuzz!"

"I-I'm gonna die if we keep running together! Just leave me behind, save yourself!" Theo curled up on the ground and covered his head.

"I'll bust you out later, 'fraidy cat." Simone dashed towards the street to her car, but it looked thoroughly smashed and broken. "What the-" And the police sirens rang louder as the police car turned the corner and parked in the middle of the road.

"THIS IS THE POLICE!" Gil jumped out of his car and aimed his stun gun at Simone. "PUT YOUR HANDS ON THE GROUND!"

"And don't even think about using that cyanide tooth again!" Roslyn ran over and forced her hand into Simone's mouth.

"A-AAAAH!" Simone tried to bite down on her fingers but did not succeed as Roslyn pulled a fake tooth containing an oblong red pill.

"Simone!" Theo felt the barrel of a revolver press up against his temple. The leader of the mysterious strangers had caught up to him.

"HEY!" Gil aimed his stun gun at the leader. "What business do you have here?! Drop your weapon!"

"...Secret Service." They withdrew their gun and pulled out a badge. "Our duty is to protect the president."

Gil lowered his own weapon. "We were told about Emerald Spear activities around here. Didn't think it'd get so bad that the president would be in danger. Again."

"I-I didn't even know about the president until now! I didn't even agree to this plan! Please don't hurt me!" Theo pleaded.

"You're still coming with us, regardless." Gil cuffed the sniveling man. "Thanks a lot, Mr.- I mean, Ms.- uh… Mx.…?"

"Just call me Orlena. That's all you need to know about me." Orlena picked Theo off the ground. "Need me to help you out?"

"Just with Simone, she's a thrasher."

"HOLD STILL YOU-" Roslyn couldn't even cuff Simone without kneeing her in the sides.

"You were called about Emerald Spears too, then?" Orlena went over and helped Roslyn out with that horrid criminal.

"Yeah, someone we knew tipped us off about this place. How'd Secret Service find out about this place?"

"Connections. That's all you need to know." Orlena grabbed onto Simone's collar and brought her to the police car.

"And how was the president in danger, anyway? I know she and the Emerald Spears have some... history, but she's in the White House now, isn't she?"

Orlena went over and whispered to the two cops.

"I see, I see…" Roslyn nodded. "Not even publically revealed. I can see why you'd want to suppress that information until the contest."

"WOOO!" Shoegaze burst out of the trash can. "I thought I'd have to come out just to make sure you knew this was the place, but they came running right out!"

Gil smiled. "...Osric. Thanks a lot for finding where they were hiding out."

"Heyyy, no problem! Maybe you can properly thank me by-"

"Before I do anything with you, go find a place to take a shower, stinky." Gil snickered and entered the drivers' seat of the car.

"You really were a big help, though." Roslyn smiled at Shoegaze, giving him a thumbs up.

"Eh, it's nothing…" Shoegaze smiled, but internally he was screaming because he didn't know what part of the city this even was. He hoped to god Blues didn't go too far.

"We're going to follow you, officers." There was a black car along the side of the road, which Orlena had the keys to.

"Perfectly fine, any information we get will help you too." Gil nodded and looked behind him. Simone was screaming out the window.

"I'LL KILL YOU, BEANIE BOY! YOU HEAR ME, YOU GODDAMN ROBOT BASTARD?!" She tried to kick at the window but kept bumping into Theo in the process.

"You're… joking, are you?" Gil shook his head.

"Told ya this would happen." Roslyn sighed, wishing Simone wasn't right for once. "They're getting so paranoid that they think other humans are robots."

"What lie did he feed you? That he was helping his robot friend or something?" Simone hissed.

"I'm more inclined to believe him and not an actual terrorist." Gil turned back to Simone. "So blow it out your ass."

"W-Why you-"

"Simone, please, it's not worth it." Theo sighed.

"Hmph…" Simone shut her mouth.

* * *

"Okay… We made sure everything is in order, right?" Dr. Light reinserted Oil Man's I.C. chip. The talk with Oil Man wasn't so interesting, he just seemed a bit mad about Fire Man frying him up.

"The shell, the core, his circuitry, and even the specific diesel blend you gave to him are all successfully replaced." Tempo nodded.

"Alright, then let's reactivate him. Time Man's been worried sick." Dr. Light turned the power dial all the way up.

"Mmmmmmm…" Oil Man gave a big yawn, accidentally closing his mouth on his scarf before spitting it out. "Blech! Oh, 'sup doc?"

"Oil Man!" Time Man immediately embraced his younger brother.

"T-Time, you're alright!" Oil Man wrapped his arms around Time Man, giving him that patented nozzle arm hug.

"You too! I'm… sorry for what I did, I didn't-"

"Nah, you good, man! Wily's just a dick is all." Oil Man smiled under that scarf.

"I missed you so much!" Time Man cuddled up to him.

"Man, I love it when you're upfront about your emotions."

"I know you just woke up, Oil Man, but we have important business to tend to." Dr. Light gestured for the two to follow him.

"Yes, sir." Time Man immediately followed.

"Really? A'ight, I guess…" Oil Man was just a sleepy teenager.

In the main room, Mega Man was mentally preparing himself for what was to come. This was going to be the biggest challenge that he would face before taking down Wily.

Dr. Lalinde handed the drone to Dr. Light as he entered. "The CBRMP has a dead zone all throughout it, but the drone is linked to the teleporter and can bring entities in and out even within a dead zone. Take care that it doesn't get destroyed."

"I'm ready!" Cut Man hyped himself. "I want that castle to be in ruins! I'm gonna show up and end everything! I'm gonna-" He growled and kicked at the coffee table.

Guts Man put a hand on Cut's shoulder. "We're all going to work together. We're all gonna save Roll and defeat Doctor Wily."

"I'm ready to perform my duties." Ice Man stood by and saluted.

"Let's blast that place to the ground!" Bomb Man rolled one of his Hyper Bombs along his shoulder like a basketball.

"The flames of justice should burn in us brighter than ever if we're gonna do it!" Fire Man crossed his arms, his head flame growing again.

"He's going to regret ever crossing us…" Elec Man sparked with tranquil fury.

"I'm going to make amends to all of you. I may not be able to stop time as of now, but… My Time Slow should suffice." Time Man encouraged himself.

"Oh, uh, we goin' to Wily's hideout? Like, right now?" Oil Man stretched out to make himself more awake. "If that's the case, then let's whoop some ass!"

"...Mega Man. You're ready, aren't you?" Dr. Light patted his son on the back.

"More than I've ever been." Mega Man smiled and stood tall. "Activate the teleporter."

"Right!" Plugging in the coordinates, Dr. Light looked at all of his children. "I'm so proud of you all…"

"Thanks, dad." Mega Man turned to his siblings. "Is everyone ready?!"

"YEAH!"

"Alright! Let's rock!"

* * *

Why do I cry over cheesy stuff like Mega Man saying "Let's rock"

it's such 90s cartoon levels of buffoonery yet it makes me emotional even though I'm the writer


	11. Wily Castle 1 and 2A

Jeezus Laweezus it's been a while but I finally got it finished.

This is also the first chapter where you learn that I'll be inconsistent with censoring the fuck word, I keep it uncensored for either emphasis or comedy.

Also, we got a Discord server now! If you want to join, PM me!

* * *

_This is it… This is the beginning of the end. We'll save Roll and make Wily pay for what he's done._

Thoughts rushed through Mega Man's mind as he stood in place, waiting for the rest of the Robot Masters to teleport behind him. The CBRMP had several different Big Eyes guarding the premises. Tough enemies right off the bat.

"I can take care of them no problem!" Guts Man spawned a Guts Block, which he lifted above his head.

"And I can slow them down for you." Time Man stood beside Mega Man and crossed his arms.

"I can't thank you guys enough for wanting to help me." Mega Man wiped his eyes. He had to focus now. "Come on!"

The group charged forward. Time Man's bells rang as the flow of time slowed for the big robots, slowing their descent so Guts Man could get a direct hit on each one that came their way. Mega Man himself equipped the Super Arm and reached the outside wall of the building they were placed in front of.

"Come on, help me out with this!" Mega Man tore the wall open, throwing chunks of it every which way as he did so.

"Of course, darling!" Elec Man's Thunder Beam shot right through the walls, revealing the interior. "Fire geysers…"

"Ice Man, you know what to do!" Mega Man switched to the Ice Slasher.

"Yes, sir!" Ice Man joined Mega Man in freezing each geyser shut, creating makeshift platforms to get up to the next ladder.

* * *

"Oy, Doctor Light! You visited this place a long time ago!" Cut Man spoke to the drone following the group. "That means you know stuff about this place, right?"

"Well, it was so far back…" Light eyed the spike pits strewn about that his Robot Masters carefully jumped across. "I don't remember anything about the building you're in now, but I do remember a long bridge connects the two buildings making up the plant, and that should be coming up when you get to the top of the one you're storming. But, I need to stress, Wily HAS to have modified this place in more ways than just adding traps. That's why I can't give you an accurate description other than the basic gist of it."

"So get ready for anything, right." Cut Man threw a Rolling Cutter at several incoming Fleas. Two of them dropped energy capsules, which he picked up. "Let's save these for when we need them! I think this is gonna be an all-nighter!"

"The path splits from here." Bomb Man jumped up the higher path. "I can go check this way and see what's there. Guts, Ice, and Fire can go with me, and Rock, Cut, Elec, Time, and Oil can go the other way, and we'll catch up with each other sooner or later, depends on where and what either path leads to."

"Oh? You'd really let li'l ol' me go with ya, Bomb?" Fire Man smiled. Bomb Man was normally averse to Fire Man, so this seemed particularly kind.

"I thought you didn't need a boy scout to keep you out of trouble." Ice Man snickered.

"Don't be a wiseass, Ice." Bomb smiled nonetheless. "Come on!"

"Alright, stay safe!" Mega Man used the Super Arm to pull out chunks of the wall to go down the path his group had.

* * *

IF ***001 is sighted*** THEN ***terminate***

IF ***003-00B interferes with termination of 001*** THEN ***terminate***

IF ***shell is damaged significantly*** THEN ***no mercy***

IF ***001 is terminated*** THEN ***vessel will self-destruct***

* * *

"Fleas, right up ahead!" Bomb Man rolled one of his bombs towards the many tiny robots hopping at him and his siblings.

"No problemo, we got it under control!" Fire Man's busters were aimed at the ground. Two streams of fire created a literal firewall between them and the Fleas, which just stubbornly hopped right into the flames before melting down from the intense heat.

"T-Thank you, Fire Man…" Ice Man removed his hood and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He was absolutely heat-intolerant.

"The path goes up from here." Bomb Man ran into the next room. "Damn, a dead end."

"Not quite!" Guts Man held his head up. "That wall up there looks pretty weak. I can pull it out no problem!"

"Go fer it!" Fire Man whooped and got on Guts Man's back.

"Right, whatever pops out, you take care of 'em, Fire!" Guts Man took a running start before leaping up towards the fractured wall and yanking it right out. "More fleas?!"

"There must be a hundred of 'em at least!" Fire Man leaped off Guts Man and stuck his busters into the ground as the big guy chucked the chunk of wall with his Super Arm. "FIRE!"

* * *

"Hup!" Cut Man was making all sorts of noises as he wall jumped through a room they climbed into with no visible way of climbing at all.

"Man… why can't we do that?" Oil folded his arms.

"Don't worry, I got this under control!" Mega Man smiled and equipped the Magnet Beam. He blasted it into one of the walls and jumped onto the resulting platform. "Come on!"

"That's…" Dr. Light's voice came from the other end of the drone. "That's the Magnet Beam! Where did you find it, Mega Man?"

"Oh, it was just behind the walls of the power plant where I went to fight Elec Man. How'd you know about it? I don't think you've ever seen me use it yet…"

"I remember making a blueprint for it back in my college days! You know, when I was with Wily… I couldn't find it after he left me. So he must have stolen the blueprint, but declared it useless to his goals and hid it away."

"Well, good for us, because we couldn't reach Wily without it! I mean, Cut Man could but he couldn't do it alone." The Magnet Beam's platforms helped the remainder of the Robot Masters get to the next room. "Good thing Guts Man can create his own blocks now, otherwise the others would get stuck."

"C'mon! Up here, slowpokes!" Cut Man shouted down from the next room up.

"Well, you heard the man." Mega Man jumped up and reached the ladder.

"That's the last area before you can get to the bridge. Just be careful. There's something fishy about that empty room up ahead." Dr. Light's drone followed the five Robot Masters.

"He's right. It's quiet." Mega Man looked around.

"Too quiet…" Time Man stood beside the Blue Bomber.

Suddenly, Oil Man let out a bloodcurdling scream, "BEHIND UUUUUUUUS!"

Several globs of yellow slime flew right in from the door, soaring right at them in a seemingly random pattern.

Elec Man tried his best to dodge each one, but a clump hit him smack dab in the face, smearing his makeup.

"You _fucker!_" Elec Man fired a Thunder Beam at one of the clumps, but it didn't seem to take any damage.

Soon, the yellow slime started spinning around and coming together, creating a tall, bipedal robot(?) with a singular eye on its face.

"BUMOOOO!" It started to scream out. "Bumo! Bumomomomomo! Bumomomomomomomomo! Bumo!"

"NO! YOU SHUT UP, BUMO BOY!" Elec Man fired his Thunder Beam directly at the thing's eye, and that seemed to do the trick, as it stumbled back and held onto it.

"My drone's scanners tell me that this is called the 'Yellow Devil'. It's made up of a shape-memory alloy, and you seem to have found its weakness real quick."

"Yellow Devil, Shmellow Devil!" Elec Man growled. "This thing's going to PAY! I spent AN HOUR getting this makeup right!"

The Yellow Devil began to separate once more. Elec Man yelled out to Time Man. "Slow it down!"

"Right-" Time Man's bells rang, the pattern at which each piece of the Devil became more predictable now.

"Oil Man, before it reforms, spray an oil puddle on the ground it'll stand on!"

"Gotcha!" Oil Man sprayed it all down.

"Mega Man, you help me take it down!" Elec Man charged up his energy, small bolts crackling along his armor.

"Uh, right!" Mega Man was a bit nervous as he dodged the different parts of the Yellow Devil, but this plan should work out…

"Ready…!" Elec Man leaned back and spread his arms out as if his life depended on that pose.

And when the Yellow Devil stepped onto the ground after reforming, it fell back. "BUMOOO!"

"ENERGIZE!" The bolts on Elec Man traveled through the metal floor, up the walls, and into the ceiling, converging above the Yellow Devil, before multiple lightning bolts pierced its eye. "Now, Mega! Finish it!"

Taking no chances, Mega Man sprang up and pointed downward, firing one last Thunder Beam.

Smoke burst out of every crevice in the giant gooey robot before it imploded, each piece crumbling in on themselves before they violently blew up.

"That's the price you pay… for messing with my makeup!" Elec Man sat down and began to weep. "Now I have to clean the rest of it off…"

"You still look pretty without it, Elec." Mega Man put a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Y-You're… Am I really?" Elec Man sniffled.

"I have no reason to lie to you." Mega Man gave him a reassuring smile.

"…That's is why you're my favorite brother, you always speak your mind." Elec Man pulled out a small package of makeup wipes.

"Oyyyyyy!" A gravelly voice came from behind the door.

"They're here!" Oil Man turned around to see the other half of the group had made it. "What'd y'all find?"

"We got a big ol' energy capsule!" Fire Man laughed and held it above his head. "And that's in addition to all the little capsules we got from the Fleas we had to fight!"

"W-We have to set a priority list over who gets recharged with the energy capsules when night comes…" Ice Man was panting, unzipping his parka and groaning. "It's so hooooot…"

"So, where do we go next?" Bomb Man looked around the now-empty room. "Is it another dead end? Please tell me it's not."

"There has to be an exit somewHEEEEEERE-" Mega Man stepped in a certain spot on the floor, which collapsed under him.

"You a'ight bro?!" Oil Man ran over to the hole in the floor. "Hey, sunlight!"

The blue bomber groaned and got back onto his feet. "I'm okay! I think this is the bridge Dr. Light mentioned!"

* * *

"You two have one. Last. Chance." Dr. Wily briefed his two serious, yet rather incompetent SWNs. "You may have been able to take out Time Man and Oil Man the first time, but they've escaped. Do not mess this up."

"Understood, sir." Barga Man bowed down.

"It's not enough that you understand. First, I must give you the tools to succeed. Second, I must have you two separated since evidently, you only get in each others' way."

* * *

"S-So we have to get across here?" Guts Man seemed a little nervous. Like Rock, he wasn't good with tall heights at all. A bit troublesome when most of the bridge now consists of holes and platforms that they have to jump across and risk falling to their destruction.

"Hey, don't worry." Mega Man stood by the big guy. "My Magnet Beam can help out if you're too scared."

"…Thank you…" Guts Man embraced his brother, following right behind him with every platform he made to fill each gap.

"I can help too!" Ice Man spat his Ice Slasher at the incoming Bladers, freezing them in place… strangely, they stayed in the air, making even more platforms to jump off of.

"Well, see y'all on the other side!" Oil Man just simply went ahead on his Oil Slider, jumping on top of the new platforms and performing tricks like this wasn't an urgent situation.

"Oil, don't rush ahead!" Time Man sighed and ran after him.

"Stop bein' such a worrywart, man!" Oil Man laughed and did a kickflip off of his Slider, the boosters on the soles of his treads seemed to keep the oil from just splattering everywhere.

"That looks like fun!" Mega Man chuckled and equipped the Oil Slider himself, his armor turning the same colors as Oil Man's with a point at the top of his helmet, even getting a red scarf that matched his new brother's.

"Gotta practice before you can become a true master like me, Rocky!" Oil Man leaped off his Slider when he got to the other side of the bridge.

"Doesn't look too hard!" Mega Man squirted a puddle onto the ground and jumped on, but handling it was a bit tricky… He flailed about trying to balance himself before Elec Man grabbed Mega Man off of it.

"I think you'll have to take his word for it, sweetie." Elec Man placed Mega Man on the ground.

"C'mon, you guys, y'all are so- AAAAAAAAAAA-" Oil Man stepped forward only for the floor to collapse under him.

"Not again…" Mega Man ran forward and shouted into the hole. "Oil Man! Are you okay?!"

"Y-Yeah, god, I think my ass is cracked…"

"Isn't it already cracked?" Cut Man laughed and jumped down.

"Guess we got nowhere else to go but down." Bomb Man shrugged and jumped down with Cut Man.

* * *

The room through the hole was massive but had no visible exits to speak of. It was almost like an arena of some sort…

"Stay on your toes, everyone! I got a bad feeling about this!" Ice Man stood at the front of the group, ready for anything.

But he could not anticipate that the threat would burst out from right under him.

Sparks flew from the stubs where his arms used to be, spasming as he felt his circuitry overload and short out. Ice Man tried to hold still to see what could have possibly done this to him, but a silver boot kicked his face in the next second, sending him flying.

"Doctor Wily has commanded me to neutralize you. I will not falter. I am SWN-00A, Barga Man Mk. II." The robot was silver and yellow, with claws that sparked with electricity.

"Ice Man!" Mega Man ran forward and aimed at Barga Man. "You're going to pay!"

Time Man trembled in his boots. One of the robots who took him and Oil Man out, and now his powers have been boosted with electricity.

"Everyone, you gotta protect Time Man!" Oil Man ran forward.

"Right!" Mega Man ran to the side and fired away with his normal Mega Buster.

"Pointless." Barga Man's claws deflected each and every shot. He moved faster than anything Mega Man has seen before, jumping from side-to-side before gashing Mega Man's cheek with a forward lunge.

"Gh!" Mega Man swiped a twitching finger along his wound before equipping the Oil Slider again. "I gotta do something to insulate the flow of his electricity!"

Oil Man slid up right next to his brother. "I discussed a plan with Bomb and Fire, now it's my turn to tell you what to do. Left foot in front of the right one, Mega!"

"Huh? Oh, right, the Slider!" Mega Man nodded and squirted the puddle onto the ground before hopping on in the position that Oil Man told him to get in.

"Turn your foot forward so that it's straight with the puddle, not sideways!" Oil Man rode towards Barga Man, shifting his weight and turning his "board" to dodge the robot's shocking claws.

"O-Okay…" Mega Man leaned forward, going a bit faster, getting the hang of it.

"When you ride into him, jump off!" Oil Man leaped off his Slider and hit Barga Man in the back of the head, but Barga Man didn't seem too fazed.

"Alright, I can do this!" Mega Man placed his right foot on the ground and pushed himself forward. Bending his knees, he jumped up off the ground, straight into the claws of Barga Man. He leaped off of the Oil Slider, giving himself another vertical boost and dodging the slashes.

"BOMB, FIRE, NOW!" Oil Man shouted out.

"Fire in the hole!" Fire Man blasted his Fire Storm. Against an oil-covered opponent, this is a deadly combination.

"Here goes nothing!" Bomb Man used the brand new ability he was upgraded with, throwing a huge Hyper Bomb at Barga Man. When the flames hit their enemy, he was completely set alight.

And when the bomb hit the fire, it detonated, completely decimating their enemy.

"We did it…" Mega Man looked around the smokey room, picking up an I.C. chip off the ground. "Wow… Against all odds, this is still just fine."

"Ice Man sure isn't, though." Cut Man picked his dismembered brother off the ground.

"I-I-I-I'll be okay…" Ice Man was still jittering with excess electricity. "J-J-Just take me b-b-b-back to the lab. G-G-G-Go on without m-me."

Mega Man nodded. "Alright. You did well."

"If I were a betting man, I'd say Ice Man isn't going to be the only one we'll lose." Elec Man walked over to the crater the Hyper Bomb blew in the ground. "This way, let's go!"

* * *

"Poor thing…" Dr. Light placed Ice Man on the repair table.

"Don't worry s-s-s-so much, sir." Ice Man tried to downplay the pain he was in.

"What do you mean don't worry?! You're short-circuiting!"

"J-Just focus on g-g-guiding the others." Ice Man slowly closed his eyes as he shut down.

"I'll repair him for you, doctor." Dr. Lalinde stood by. "He's right, though. They need someone to guide them through."

"Fine." Dr. Light held the headset in his hands. "By the way, I never got to hear about what you were going to tell me over the phone."

"Oh, that? I have a new robot staying over. His name is Shoegaze." She neglected to talk about Blues, as per Shoegaze's request.

"Oh, really? Where'd he come from?"

"He was built by Doctor Hirono to be her child."

"The one who disappeared, huh? What a poor fellow this Shoegaze must be…"

"HEY, DOC! WHERE'S THE SHOWER?"

"Speak of the devil." Dr. Lalinde turned around. "I have a steam bath for robots in the basement."

"Doc, I'm waterproof, a shower will do." Shoegaze smelled of trash as he walked into the room.

"Then it's in the bathroom." Lalinde tried to keep a straight face, but it was hard when the person she had to be next to absolutely reeked. "Did you crawl out of a dumpster or something?"

"More like popped out a trash can, but yeah. That's why I need the shower. For my date's sake." The smelly, scruffy robot left to get himself cleansed.

"Date, huh? Who's the lucky ducky?" Light looked over to the other doctor to get that juicy gossip.

"Focus on your kids first." Dr. Lalinde held her tongue, trying not to break her stoicism from the fact that he just said "lucky ducky".

* * *

"NOT AGAIN!" At the end of the next segment they went through, Oil Man fell into another hole in the floor trying to grab some small Weapon Capsules.

"For Pete's sake…" Mega Man hopped across the gap and grabbed them himself, plugging them into his buster and recharging the weapon he had the least energy for, the Magnet Beam.

"Man, izzis place old or jus' sabotaged?" Fire Man jumped down, with the others following.

The area under the hole looked just like Barga Man's arena. Another battle was soon to come.

"I remember Roll saying their names," Mega Man began talking, "If the last one was Barga Man, then the other one is Power Man."

"So that was his name? He shoulda been named Saw Man. He had a chainsaw on his hand!" Oil Man stretched, grunting in pain from landing on his rear again.

"W-Wait, really?" Guts Man looked nervous.

"Yeah, he kinda looked like you too!"

"...In what regards?" Now Guts Man looked bothered.

"He was big, he got a helmet, and he got a big underbite like yours!"

"Why would Wily just copy me like that?!" Guts Man pounded his chest a little. "HEY! COME ON OUT AND FIGHT ME!"

"Damn, you sure ain't flattered." Oil Man chuckled nervously, but it was cut short by the shrieking of something cutting through the wall behind them. "Here he comes!"

Power Man Mk. II came bursting out. His chainsaw was aflame, with his armor being painted red in certain parts to match this.

"Aw hell." Oil Man looked at Time Man. "Y-Your turn to protect me, right?"

"You're able to get away quickly. Not everyone here has that same privilege." Time Man looked at Bomb Man.

"You're right…" Oil Man nodded. "Hey, Bomb Man! Come with me!" He ran over before spraying down an Oil Slider.

"Wasn't thinking of staying and fighting him anyway." Bomb Man backed onto the puddle as he and Oil Man got as far back as possible. "You guys take care of Power Man!"

"I won't let him touch either of you!" Mega Man switched to the Ice Slasher, but he didn't anticipate he'd get toppled over by Power Man, who ran right past him. "W-What?!" Power Man completely ignored Mega Man and sprinted towards Oil Man and Bomb Man.

"God, this guy's fast!" Bomb Man held onto Oil Man's scarf, trying his best to not fall off the Slider.

"HEY! You and I got business, buddy!" Guts Man rushed at the new fiery robot, knocking him over and spawning a Guts Block to lift with his Super Arm.

"Yeah, get him, Guts Man!" Mega Man cheered on, taking aim at the chainsaw and firing an Ice Slasher at it in an attempt to extinguish it.

"Take this!" The big guy wound up and threw it head-on. But, this opponent wasn't going down without a fight. Power Man rolled out of the way, causing both attacks to miss, and when broken chunks of the block flew at him, he slashed at each one, cutting them clean in half.

"Drat!" Now Guts Man was trying to dodge the flaming chainsaw himself. He swung side-to-side, ducked and jumped, but even his tremors couldn't stop Power Man from gashing his arm before running past him. "HEY!"

Power Man was still focused on Bomb Man and Oil Man. The two easiest ones for him to destroy.

"He's gaining on us…" Oil Man tried to ride along the walls, but Bomb Man nearly fell off. He couldn't do any fancy tricks with someone else riding with him.

"TIME'S UP!" Time Man ran into Power Man's path and his bells rang. His Time Slow activated, giving his brothers a bit of time to get away and for him to attack the enemy. It was short-lived, however, as he was then floored by Power Man's boot to his chest.

"Can't this thing go any faster?!" Bomb Man was in full-blown panic mode as Power Man slowly gained on them.

"I'm trying, dude! This thing is- Ah, shit…" Power Man's arm was aloft, about to come down on the two robots…

"LOOK OUT!" Suddenly, they were knocked to the side, with Elec Man now in their place. He was struck in the shoulder, his arm coming off with one clean motion. But this allowed Elec Man to grab Power Man by the face and bring the voltage up to 11.

A field of electricity burst out from Elec Man's body. Power Man's chainsaw started to cut through Elec Man's waist, but he just wouldn't quit!

"AS LONG AS I AM HERE, YOU WILL TOUCH NEITHER OF THEM!" Elec Man's hand yanked down and completely pulled Power Man's lower jaw off of his face before Power Man finally burst into flames himself. Elec Man slowly crawled away on his one arm. "I'm sorry you had to see that. Heh…" Elec Man looked up at the ceiling.

"B-Bro…" Oil Man stood back up on unsteady feet.

"Just go on without me, I can be repaired."

Mega Man nodded slowly, reaching into Power Man's smoking head to retrieve his I.C. chip. "Thank you so much. We won't let your sacrifice be in vain."

* * *

"Hmph… They took down two of them. That's progress, but still not enough." Dr. Wily held onto his head. "Reggae… Get in the machine."

"You mean _that_ machine? I thought you were going to use it to fight Mega Man yourself!"

"I'm going to need something much bigger, much more flexible in its attacks if I'm going to fight the blue boy and any potential ally who joins him if they get that far."

"So… is it still the Wily Machine?"

"To you and them, it shall be the Reggae Machine. Go now! Fight them off before it's too late!"

"Y-Yes, sir!"

* * *

Let's hope to God I can make the next chapter sooner than this one.


	12. Wily Castle 2B-4A

guess who finished finally

* * *

_We have to keep going. No matter what happens, no matter the cost, we'll stop Dr. Wily._

Making their way down, there weren't many obstacles in the group's path now that they were away from the bridge. The Octo-Batteries and Blasters notwithstanding, it was smooth sailing now.

"I reckon that we're almost at ground level now." Fire Man's voice broke the monotony.

"We'll have to go all the way up again to get to Wily…" Mega Man's voice was low as he climbed down a ladder into another room.

"Hey, we'll get to him in no time, don't be so down in the dumps!" Oil Man looked around the last room. "Man, it's all disco-looking up in here!" The room's walls consisted of squares that blinked all sorts of colors. It looked like a retro dance floor in every corner.

"I wonder if we can renovate this place after we beat Dr. Wily, this could make a sick dance club!" Cut Man had this almost childlike bewilderment for this room.

"I- I don't think that's what we should be worried about right now!" Guts Man tried getting their attention as the whole place shook before a wall opened up in front of them.

Behind it was a huge flying machine, menacing as all get-out, with a big red cannon in front and an orange glass windshield over the cockpit. Out the top of the machine was that flying saucer Wily piloted. But inside the cockpit wasn't Wily.

"HAHAHAHAHAAAA! I won't let any of you pass through in one piece! Wily entrusted me with this machine, the Reggae Machine, to take you down!" That crow?

"I knew it! I knew there was a reason that the crow gave me and Roll bad vibes!" Mega Man stood tall.

"W-What? I'm a stork!" Reggae seemed a bit miffed at being mistaken for a crow.

"...So. You weren't just a bird after all." Fire Man looked hurt. "I thought I could trust ya, bird. I found out 'bout that tracker you put on me. It wasn't very nice."

"The fact you could trust me in the first place was just pure naiveté! Wily chose you to have that tracker placed on you for a reason!" Reggae cackled and gripped onto the joysticks to control the machine using his talons.

"I can't be mad at ya, though." Fire Man wiped at his eyes. "Of all the creatures on this earth, I love birds the most. I don't wanna fight ya."

"Aww, such a sentimental man… it brings a tear to my eye…" Reggae cruelly echoed the words Fire Man used with him. "And bile to the back of my throat!" With that, the red cannon in front fired huge cannonballs that came flying out in an arc. When they landed, they knocked back several of the Robot Masters.

That was Fire Man's limit. He dashed forward before aiming up at the machine. "FINE! Violence the only thing y'all understand? Then violence I bring! FIRE!" He shot up at the red cannon, which proved effective.

"W-WAH!" Reggae shook around, cracks forming on the windshield. "W-What are you-"

"I've had a long day, my house was destroyed by Wily, I had to smoke one of my own brothers, then watch two more of 'em get mangled, and now you're bein' a rude punk-ass bird? No! I won't have it! I'm at my damn limit, you goose-neck sumbitch! I ain't got no more patience!"

Fire Man used his Fire Storm to boost himself up like a rocket before sticking it into the cannon's barrel. "MY KINDNESS WAS A GIFT AND YOU SPAT ON IT, SO I'M TAKIN' IT RIGHT BACK! TASTE THE FLAMES OF JUSTICE AND KNOW THE WRATH OF THE LIGHT FAMILY!" Charging up both busters, Fire Man blasted into the cannon before getting knocked back by the resulting explosion. The cannon was broken now, as was the cockpit protecting Reggae.

"MAYDAY, MAYDAY!" Reggae tried to control the machine, but with the damage that it sustained, the blasts the now-uncovered cannon fired were spiraling out of control.

"We got you now!" Cut Man leaped up high and threw his two Rolling Cutters into the cockpit, slicing the joysticks off so that Reggae was unable to even move the machine.

"This is the end!" Mega Man equipped the Thunder Beam before aiming into the cockpit, right at the control panel of the machine. With everything inside sparking and blowing up, Reggae had no choice but to evacuate. Good thing he had wings...

"TELL WILY WE'RE COMIN' FOR HIS HIDE NEXT!" Fire Man yelled out at the cowardly stork, who flew right out of there.

Mega Man took this time to hug his brother tightly. "I'm so sorry he said those things, Fire Man-"

"N-No, Rocky, it's fine. I hadn't let my temper fire up like that in a looooong time, that's fer sure." He shook his head. "We gotta get going, can't keep little Roll waiting, can we?"

"You're right." Mega Man walked ahead, to a hatch in the floor. "Looks like we'll have to go through here."

* * *

Damp, humid, and cold, it's only going to go down further and further from here.

"Wily didn't cut back on the Octo-Batteries here, that's for sure." Time Man looked around, shivering a bit.

"Ain't they technically called Adhering Suzies?" Oil Man looked over at Time Man.

"I acknowledge they have a real name, but given that it's a stupid name, I've elected to ignore it."

"Be nice to the Suzies, y'all." Fire Man jumped down one of the pits, avoiding each Adhering Suzy that flew at him. "I have a feeling this place probably won't end well fer me."

"Little too wet for you?" Cut Man chuckled.

"I can't use my Fire Storm when I'm wet! The only thing I can use is my little fire satellite thingy that hovers around me each time I shoot, y'know?"

"Well, there isn't any water to be seen here… I don't think you'll have to worry about it." Guts Man jinxed it, judging by the sirens that are going off and the low rumbling in the distance.

".That doesn't sound good at all." Mega Man looked behind the group as a giant wave of water came heading towards them, sweeping them up and taking them for a ride in the current.

"GAAAAAWD DAMMIIIIIT!" This was Fire Man's worst nightmare. Not being able to properly uses his Fire Storm meant he was effectively useless right now.

"Hold on, everybody!" Guts Man wasn't at the full mercy of the current unlike everyone else. He was able to run in front of the group and put down a few Guts Blocks so that they had a place to get their footing back.

"Thanks a lot-" Mega Man got onto his feet after being rolled by the current.

"Ahhh, hell-" Oil Man was a bit dizzy, but he soon got it together. "Y'know, I got a neat trick for situations like this!"

"Really? I wanna see!" Even in this situation, Mega Man still had that sense of innocence like a real kid.

"You know how oil floats on water? Watch this!" Oil Man shot out a bubble of oil, which floated upwards before he kicked his feet into it. He was sliding upside-down!

"Wowww! I wanna try!" Mega Man followed Oil Man's lead, imitating his movements before floating up to the ceiling with him. Sliding at the top of the place was useful for avoiding the Pengs and Killer Bullets that were flying below.

"Easy does it!" Oil Man did a flip on his Slider. In no time, the duo made it to the end of the hall, leaving the others in the dust.

Unfortunately for them, the current wouldn't let up. Even when they wanted to stop to let the others catch up, they were pushed into a room with a gate on every side.

"I got a bad feeling about this." Oil Man looked at the big blocks situated in the corners of the room. "But we'll live."

"FO-REIGN. EN-TI-TIES. DE-TEC-TED. SCOUT-ING. A-RE-A." A loud mechanical voice came from the gate in the ceiling as a peculiarly-designed robot appeared, with a big bubble around it.

"Oh no-" Mega Man stood tall as the gate closed behind the two Robot Masters. Fortunately for them, the drone that Dr. Light piloted was able to get through in time.

"Both of you! That was careless to rush ahead!" Light's voice was stern, yet behind it, there was no anger, but care.

"Sorry, dad." Mega Man looked up. "What is that thing?"

"That's a CWU-01P, a water purification robot. I wouldn't get my hopes up about it being harmless, judging that this is Wily's fortress now."

"EN-TI-TIES. NOT. UN-DER. WILY'S. CON-TROL. IF. NOT. UN-DER. WILY'S. CON-TROL. THEN. EX-TER-MIN-ATE."

"I think the BBC's gonna sue." Oil Man laughed dryly before the big robot began charging towards them.

"Eat this!" Mega Man ran to the corner before picking up one of the big blocks with his Super Arm and destroying the purification robot instantly. "Ha! That wasn't so hard!"

"E-LI-MIN-ATE." Mega Man spoke too soon, as another one appeared in its place.

"Save some of them blocks, Mega, I got an idea!" Oil Man fired several globs of oil at the robot, watching them float up towards it before the bubble shield was disrupted for him to kick it in the giant glowing eye. "Heh, my thesis was correct, my oil makes its bubble shield weaker!"

"DE-STROY. DE-STROY." A new one popped out and its eye was glowing brightly.

"...That ain't good." The two Robot Masters ran in different directions as a huge laser beam swept across the room. The ceiling above fell apart some, chunks of debris falling into the arena.

"WAH!" Oil Man held onto his neck before falling onto his rear and kicking. "M-My scarf! It's stuck! I'M STUCK!"

"I'm coming, don't worry!" Mega Man equipped the Oil Slider and made his way towards the CWU-01P. He jumped into it, the slider doing more damage to the bubble shield than the oil globs alone. "Got ya!" He landed next to Oil Man before equipping the Super Arm and picking up the piece of ceiling that was trapping Oil Man.

"T-Thanks, bro…" Oil Man sighed. "Here it comes!"

"No problem!" Mega Man tossed the debris at it, finishing it off.

Another one popped out, getting to the center like the last one before firing the laser around the room.

"Is it me or are they getting faster and faster?!" Oil Man dodged the laser, making sure that he didn't get caught on any ceiling fragments again.

"No problem for me!" Mega Man picked up one of the pieces of debris and tossed it right into the eye, destroying it.

"Nice shot- LOOK OUT!" Oil Man tackled Mega Man as the whole ceiling collapsed. Three more CWU-01P's fell into the arena, each one faster than the last.

"Looks like it's time for me to bust out a weapon I hadn't used yet…" Mega Man equipped the Time Slow. His armor turned purple, bells and a hammer grew on his head, and his buster grew a big watch.

"Looks like their time is up!" The bells on Mega Man's head rang, slowing everything around him down before running towards a few pieces of debris. Equipping the Super Arm, he threw them at each of the enemies in the room.

And just like that, their bubbles were burst, and they were destroyed.

"Phew…" Mega Man flopped back onto the ground. "I'm running out of juice…"

"We better start charging up once we get outta here." Oil Man looked at the door to the room open up as the rest of the Robot Masters ran in.

"You two must have been busy." Guts Man looked around the room as the water started to drain. A ladder suddenly slid down from way high up. That was their way out.

"It's like Wily's inviting us in." Time Man 's voice was wrought with suspicion.

"Well, anything to help us save Roll! Let's go!" Guts Man lifted Mega Man off the ground and pushed him to the front of the group.

"W-Whoa! Right, let's go…" Mega Man held onto the ladder and climbed up as fast as he could. It was way too tall…

"What a thrill~" Cut Man started singing to ease the tension.

"Aw, shut up!" Bomb Man groaned. How many times did he hear Cut Man sing that song whenever ladders were involved?

* * *

At the top of the ladder, Guts Man placed down each of the energy capsules that they had collected along the way. Looking out the windows, it was nighttime. They couldn't use sunlight to charge up anymore.

"Alright, once we clear this area, we'll need to divvy up the energy capsules and see who gets charged. Mega Man will take the large one, obviously." Guts Man looked over at Oil Man. "Oil Man is also a high-priority bot since he doesn't have a backup fuel tank and he can refill _our_ backup fuel tanks."

"Fine by us." Fire Man was able to burn again now that they were out of that cursed floodgate area.

"The rest of the priority list will go from who has the lowest charge to who has the highest by the end of next battle. With that out of the way, we ready?"

"Yeah!" The rest of them said in unison.

"Then let's go!"

* * *

Higher up the building, not much was there to stand in their way. This was a breather.

That was until they encountered an enormous door, sealed tightly with no obvious way to unlock it.

"Alright, who's going to catch our hands this time?" Oil Man tugged at his scarf. As soon as he said that, eight saucer-like objects floated down from the ceiling that opened up from the bottom. Colorful pillars of light shined within them.

"Something's coming! Be careful!" Dr. Light's voice came in.

"But what?" Mega Man shifted through each of his weapons as if preparing himself to use any one of them at any moment.

Figures formed in each of the eight saucers, and they all looked way too familiar…

"What the…?!" Those were copies of his siblings!

"Man, these guys are wack. They don't even have the right colors for us." Bomb Man didn't take this seriously.

"We already know who's weak to what, right?" Guts Man stepped forward, spawning a Guts Block to lift.

"You're not wrong." Mega Man nodded. These weren't his real siblings, so this might be easier than when he actually had to fight them. "Let's go, everyone!"

The two copies that could pose the biggest problems would be Time Man and Ice Man. Anything that could inhibit the group's speed while enhancing the other side's needed to be taken out immediately.

"Alright, aim for the one you know is weak to you!" Mega Man dashed towards the Copy Time and Copy Ice, firing a Thunder Beam in their direction.

"...You know, I'm grateful to my original self." The Copy Time rolled out of the way, letting Copy Ice get hit. Unlike the real Ice Man, he didn't spasm from getting hit at all.

"Huh?!" Mega Man stepped back, confused.

"He's got smarts, so I have smarts too!" The Copy Time's tone of voice was cocky, confident.

"Such an unpleasant fellow. Mega Man, silence him at once." Time Man didn't know who he should get now that it's come to light that maybe their weaknesses were all switched up.

"Hey, if I'm unpleasant, you're unpleasant too!" Copy Time suddenly appeared in front of his original self. He has a Time Stop too!

"L-Let go!"

"Time Man!" Mega Man couldn't shoot the copy… he'd end up hurting both of them. This conundrum left him open to Copy Ice kicking him in the back of his head.

"Nice job, smartass!" The copy of Guts Man picked up a block of his own and lifted it above his head, about to cast it at Time Man.

"N-No…!" Time Man needed more… time to think of a plan. He used his Time Slow, just to give himself more room to brainstorm.

But when his bells rang, Copy Guts immediately dropped his block, right on top of his own head.

"That… that's it! He's someone with a strict schedule, so of course, he's weak to the clock!" Time Man smiled to himself and escaped from Copy Time's grip.

"Damn shame we gotta take them out." Guts Man chuckled and lifted his copy off the ground by the head. "These parts are just as top-of-the-line as mine! He could work with me!"

"What?! H-Hey, hey, wait a sec!" Copy Guts tried to struggle out of his grip.

"We aren't some toys you can just take from-" Copy Time tried to protest before jolts rushed through his body. Mega Man had gotten back up to hit him with the Thunder Beam. It seemed just as effective as on the normal Time Man.

"So not all of them have different weaknesses…" Mega Man had to think. Which ones are the same as before, and which ones are different this time around?

"Look out!" Suddenly, Cut Man knocked Mega Man over. A Hyper Bomb flew past their heads, rolling away before it exploded.

"Tch… This is easy! Any old idiot can just toss bombs around." The Copy Bomb bounced another bomb in his hand.

"Maybe…" Mega Man equipped the Rolling Cutter. "Let's cut his fuse then."

"Hey, good idea!" Cut Man's scissors started snipping rapidly. "Choki choki choki!" The scissors suddenly grew in size before the two threw them in unison, cleaving the copy clean in half. "Eaaaaasy, huh?!"

"Don't let your guard down just yet, pardners!" Fire Man rushed to their side, ice encrusting his body for… obvious reasons. The copy of Oil Man was smoldering as Copy Ice came dragging his body to try and bludgeon his opponents.

"O-Oh no!" Mega Man stood beside his freezing brother and equipped the Fire Storm himself, hoping his head's flame could help melt it off. "We should find out what that one's weakness is..."

"Maybe pollution oughta do it!" Oil Man came sliding towards the copy of Ice Man before he was whacked with his own copy. "OR NOT- GAH, CRAP!" Oil Man quickly pounded out a small flame that had started on his scarf.

"I think I got it!" Mega Man switched to the Hyper Bomb. "That boy scout attitude of the normal Ice Man can't trump Bomb Man's punk lifestyle!"

Blasting a Hyper Bomb at Copy Ice, it detonated and blasted both the robots into smithereens. "That leaves two more!" Mega Man looked around. The copy of Elec Man and the copy of Fire Man. "I think I already have an idea of what Elec Man could be weak to…"

"Barga Man coming to mind for you too?" Oil Man stood back up. "Gotta stop that flow of electricity!"

"Alright, time to finish this!" Mega Man equipped the Ice Slasher.

Oil Man began to slide straight towards Copy Elec. Mega Man took this opportunity jumped off of Oil Man's back, giving himself a vertical boost to aim directly into Copy Fire's head.

In one fell swoop, Mega Man fired three Slashers into Copy Fire's head, giving him a lethal case of brain freeze, while Oil Man clotheslined Copy Elec and started dragging him behind his Oil Slider, insulating the electricity and giving him severe road rash.

"Alright! That's that!" Mega Man brushed his hands off.

"Wait…" Guts Man looked around. "Where's the copy of Cut Man?"

"Huh-" Mega Man didn't have time to think as an ice statue dropped right on his head from out of nowhere. "Owwww…"

"Nyah-nyah!" A taunting song came from Copy Cut's mouth. He was poking out of a black hole in midair before he retreated.

"W-What in the-" Cut Man looked around. "Is he literally cutting holes in the fabric of space or something?!"

"That's… so unbelievably stupid, but that has to be the case." Time Man looked around the room. "If Dr. Wily has the technology to make a fully-functioning time stopper, who knows what else he's capable of?"

"And so what if he can?" Guts Man pumped his arm before spawning a Guts Block. "Time Man and I are a deadly combo for this kind of thing!"

Time Man only smiled in response. Being able to help everyone despite his limits, it made him feel proud of himself.

"Over heeeere!" Copy Cut popped out of another slit in space before retracting.

Time Man simply closed his eyes so he could charge up the energy to slow time. A Rolling Cutter came at him, but he sidestepped it before his bells rang

Guts Man picked up the block and took careful aim. Copy Cut popped out again and had two glowing balls of energy in his hands.

"NOW!" Guts Man chucked the block harder than he's ever done in his life.

"Not bad for a meathead!" Copy Cut threw the two projectiles at the Guts Block as quickly as he could in slowed time, and they both hit the block dead-on, destroying it… before another block came at him and hit him square in the face, knocking him into the void of nothing.

"Now it's all done." Guts Man smiled and looked over at Time Man. "You alright, buddy?"

"I'm… I'm fine, it's…" Time Man's eyes were drooping.

"I see, you're running out of energy. You must be on the backup source now."

"We better hurry up then!" Mega Man looked over at the huge door in front of them. Steam sprayed out the middle of it before it slowly opened up. This has to be a big fight. Something to top what they just fought.

But through the steam, the silhouette was small, petit, feminine…

"E-Everyone!" That voice, could it be?

"Roll!" Mega Man smiled brightly.

"ROLL!" Time Man shoved Mega Man out of the way to embrace his sister, tears immediately started overflowing. "I'm so sorry for hurting you! I shouldn't have listened to Dr. Wily! You wouldn't be here if it weren't for me!"

"Oh, Time Man, don't worry about it. I'm so glad you're all here…"

Mega Man walked towards the two, the steam starting to clear up. Mega Man could see everything clearly now. He could see all of Roll's features, her red dress, her strawberry blonde hair, her purple bow…

Purple bow? Isn't it green?

"Time Man! Get back! That's not-"

_Shank._

"Ah-" Time Man found a shard of scrap metal embedded in his backup fuel tank before Roll yanked it out, spilling the remaining oil and causing Time Man to deactivate.

"Did you really think that you'd save your sister that easily?" The Copy Roll smiled like a crocodile, her teeth were noticeably sharper than the real Roll's teeth too.

Two saucer-like objects, similar to what carried in the copies of the other Robot Masters, descended from the ceiling. One hovered over Mega Man, the other hovered over Copy Roll before a beam of light surrounded both of them.

Copy Roll changed before their very eyes, into a perfect copy of Mega Man himself.

"It's a bit underhanded to just go around stealing other robots' arms, isn't it? Then again, being a copy of you, I must be the biggest cheat of them all!" Copy Mega Man sneered.

"Yer a lowly thug, ain't ya?" Fire Man stepped forward, burning hotter than normal. "Wearin' our sister's face to get close to us and now you copy-"

Fire Man was interrupted by a sudden Ice Slasher being shot onto his mouth.

"Are you gonna bark all day, little doggie? Or are you gonna bite?"

"Fine! If that's how you're going to act, we'll return it in kind!" Mega Man was never this angry before. Being tricked into thinking that his sister was safe only to have one of his siblings taken out was the final straw for him.

"Oh, so you think you can beat me? Snowball's chance in Hell!" The copy snapped his fingers, the Mega Buster coming out with a rather intense glow.

"Just try me!" Mega Man immediately shot at the clone with three Solar Bullets.

"Alright, then." With that simple response, the Copy fired back with a much bigger, bluer Solar Bullet that swallowed up Mega Man's shots.

Mega Man's eyes widened. This blast, this supercharged solar _missile_ flew at him with frightening speed. This was the end, wasn't it?


	13. Wily Castle 4B-6

_**BANG!**_

Everything happened in one fleeting instant.

A flash of light obscured Mega Man's vision. Metal fragments and limbs flew every which way, one shard grazing the side of Mega Man's helmet.

Fire Man had jumped in front of Mega Man to save him, taking the copy's attack in his stead and getting utterly decimated.

"A… Aaa…" Mega Man couldn't even scream through his shock. Fire Man's head dropped down from the air, right in front of Mega Man's feet. If it weren't for that, he'd have thought Fire Man was gone. Gone forever.

"Snowball's. Chance. In Hell." Mega Man's copy repeated that phrase.

"BASTARD!" Cut Man leaped into the air, Rolling Cutters drawn. "You're gonna pay!" He threw two of them at different angles, hoping to trip him up.

The Copy backflipped away and dodged both of the Rolling Cutters, taking that moment to equip the Super Arm and yank a chunk of metal out of the floor. "You're out of your league, Mr. Tangerine." His arm folded back…

"Look out!" Mega Man instinctively switched to the Time Slow, just as the Copy was about to throw the debris. Perhaps expectedly, when Time Slow was activated, the chunk of the floor came crashing down on the Copy's head, just like the copy of Guts Man.

"D-Damn it." The Copy's eyes squinted in pain, throwing the debris off of himself. He switched to the Fire Storm, aiming at Oil Man and Bomb Man. "Don't think that this'll be easy just because you know my weaknesses."

"Get off a ya high horse!" Oil Man yelled as he and Bomb Man dashed in opposite directions before the flames shot out. Guts Man was able to spawn a block to protect Bomb Man, while Oil Man had to think on the fly…

Squirting down an Oil Slider, he started riding towards the flame before jumping and leaping off. The vertical boost let Oil Man avoid it before he dove down towards the Copy feet-first, and with a loud crash, he planted them firmly into the Copy's chest.

"GH-" The Copy flew back, switching back to his normal Mega Buster. "Alright, enough games." He began to charge up his energy again, going for another Charge Shot.

Bomb Man moved to block the missile; throwing a Hyper Bomb onto the ground, he let it bounce a few times to hopefully intercept it. This only served to give the Copy another projectile to attack the team with, kicking it back and shooting right at it. Both attacks headed towards Guts Man…

Guts Man placed a Guts Block in front of himself. The Hyper Bomb detonated, destroying the block, and the Solar Missile struck him dead-on. As mighty a robot Guts Man was, he still staggered backward and bellowed out in pain.

It was then that Mega Man ran towards his Copy and tackled him. Raising his fists, he swung them at the Copy's face, side-to-side, pummeling him.

"Stop it, stop it, stop it!" Mega Man, in a fit of desperation, tried to reach his Copy whilst beating him down, even if it'd do nothing. "You don't have to do this! You could do good with your powers! You don't have to be a tool for destruction!"

"You mean like you are?" The Copy only smirked in response. Mega Man's eyes glazed over as he swung down onto the Copy's face with both hands.

Mega Man's face twisted with all sorts of emotions… sorrow, fear, but above all, anger. His fists slammed down hard, driving into the Copy's face, smashing it to pieces.

Mega Man looked at the oil on his shaky hands and muttered, "…I'm more than that. I'm more than that. I'm more than that." He repeated that to himself, his vision going blurry. "I'm… more than that…" He realized he was crying. He couldn't even reassure himself as he looked towards his remaining brothers. "I… I AM more than that… Right…?"

They were staring at this scene with fear, but after the shock of Mega Man's fit of rage subsided, they all walked up to him and gave him a hug one-by-one.

"You're more than that to _us,_ bro," Cut Man said quietly.

"You must be low on energy. You can't be thinking straight right now." Guts Man pulled out the Energy Capsules he had been storing. "You all take these and go without me."

"W-What? B-But Guts Man-" Mega Man shook his head.

"If you share these without me, you'll each get to full charge. Don't worry about me." Guts Man gave a reassuring grin, taking Time Man's body and Fire Man's pieces into his arms. "I'm rooting for you all. Make me proud."

"B-But…" Mega Man looked down, cheeks still wet with tears.

"Rock, don't worry about it. We got this far, haven't we? We can beat whatever's thrown at us!" Oil Man gave Mega Man his patented nozzle arm hug that he always gave Time Man whenever he was overstimulated.

"O-Okay." Mega Man closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. "I'm sorry you all had to see what I just did…"

"Bud, don't worry about it!" Bomb Man took Mega Man's helmet off and ruffled his hair. "Just charge yourself up, worry about yourself!"

"Darn it, Bomb, you're messing it up-" Mega Man's spiked hair started to loosen up, curls forming.

* * *

Dr. Wily wasn't fazed this time. He knew it would end up coming to this.

"Reggae." Wily's voice was cold. "Activate her. Now."

"Y-Yessir!"

* * *

"Mega Man?" Dr. Light's voice came in through the drone's communicator. "Are you feeling any better?"

"I think." Mega Man sighed and held onto his arm.

"I should have said earlier, but you aren't just made to destroy. Remember who you are outside of Mega Man. You're a kid with dreams, a purpose, and a loving family. You're a best friend to Auto, a brother to your siblings, and a son to me. Don't listen to anyone who tells you otherwise."

"Thanks, dad." Mega Man sniffled.

A metallic screech rang out, echoing through the entire robot manufacturing plant.

"W-What was that?!" Cut Man covered his ears.

"Ack! Good thing Time Man isn't here to hear that." Oil Man chuckled nervously.

"It's gotta be _huge_ if it's that loud, man.." Bomb Man's fingers ran through his mohawk to fix it, as it had gotten messy from the previous battles.

Mega Man didn't speak up. All he felt was a feeling of impending doom. The many bronze statues of Guts Man didn't help matters, it felt as if they were all staring at him, ready to watch him fall.

The door in front of them had Dr. Wily's insignia on it. Mega Man froze, still shaken from the last battle. This was going to be even worse for him, wasn't it?

The door slowly raised, as if the gates of hell were opening. The room was vast, yet empty, the only light being the dim hanging bulbs on the ceiling. Yet another huge door stood at the end of the room.

Once the four Robot Masters were in the arena, the door closed behind them. Static came from a speaker on the other end of the room, linked up to an intercom system.

"If only I had programmed you differently back then… It would have been genius! It's the biggest mistake I've made in my life!"

"Your biggest mistake was crossing us!" Cut Man yelled back.

"Wily, please, stop it…" Wily was only human, perhaps Mega Man could talk sense into him? "We can still make amends-"

"What do you mean _we?!_ Do you not know who's at fault for this in the first place?!"

"Dr. Light making rash decisions doesn't justify everything you've done! Are you going to deny any responsibility on your end?!"

"This is his just desserts! So what if what I do is wrong?! The world rejected my progress, including Light, and they still keep robots down because they can't fight back on their own and _prove_ that they should be taken just as seriously as humans!"

Mega Man stepped forward. "If you're not going to listen, I'll cut to the chase: give Roll back to us right now!"

"You want her back? I'll give her to you!" On the other end of the room, the door began to unlock. "Roll, dear, your brother wants to play!"

However, before it opened up, something banged several dents into it before the door broke into pieces. From behind that door, a twenty-foot-tall red and green metal behemoth burst out. It had a sword that was more than half its height; it could cleave everyone in the room with no effort. Its shield was the length of its entire body. And to top it off, it had two faces; one where it should be, covered by a mask and visor, and one on top of its head with the detail of a porcelain doll that looked like…

Roll…

"Behold, Hyper Roll!"

Mega Man's vision blurred again, his whole body felt too heavy to move from the sheer amount of despair he felt. All he could do was stand there, staring teary-eyed at the _thing_ his sister had become.

Roll ran towards Mega Man, sword held aloft over her head before she swung it vertically, down at Mega Man.

"BRO!" in that instant, Oil Man clotheslined Mega Man out of the way, the sword missing the both of them, but the resulting shockwave knocked them away.

Mega Man was knocked back into reality as he fell on his back.

"D-Do you want to save Roll?!" Oil Man held onto Mega Man's shoulders. "We're gonna have to beat this giant to save her! Don't start pussyfootin' around just because it's Roll!"

Mega Man got up on shaky feet, Hyper Roll running towards him once more. She seemed more intent on killing Mega Man than anyone else.

Mega Man tried to run off again, but Hyper Roll's shield pounded into the ground, launching Mega Man upwards with the terrain it pushed up. That porcelain doll face stared at him with cold, soulless eyes.

Mega Man stared back at it. His fear turned into rage. Rage at Dr. Wily. How could he turn an innocent robot into this?

Mega Man knew what he had to do. He switched to the Hyper Bomb. Nothing was immune to a bomb to the face. He aimed square at that fake doll face. That wasn't his real sister.

He fired.

The bomb detonated, causing Hyper Roll to stagger backward and shriek. She flailed all around, her sword swinging every which way. Bomb Man tried to dodge, but he got bisected at the waist.

However, Bomb Man's head and arms were still attached to his torso, home to a robot's best friend, the core. He was able to roll out a few bombs of his own. "Cut! Catch!" He threw three of them out towards Cut Man, who caught each of them before jumping off the wall to drop them onto the beast's head.

Hyper Roll's visor was cracking, a shard falling off to reveal a single glowing eye.

"S… STOPPPPP…" Did she talk?

"Roll?! Are you in there?!" Mega Man called out.

"LET… ME… GO…" She was fighting from the inside, but not for long. Hyper Roll stabbed her sword into the ground, dangerously close to Mega Man.

"Incoming!" Oil Man slid up behind Mega Man, jumping over him before leaping off his slider. Before dropping down, he shot several globs of oil into Hyper Roll's eyes, effectively blinding her.

But a lack of vision didn't mean a lack of danger. Hyper Roll kicked Oil Man so hard, that the wall he hit had a crater left in it. A noticeable dent was left in Oil Man's chest, which caused his core to short out.

Hyper Roll's posture changed entirely, dropping her sword and shield before getting on all fours. Her visor and mask began to crumble, revealing a face that was nothing but wire and sharp teeth. She was like a wild animal.

She charged towards Mega Man like a bear about to catch its prey. Mega Man, rather than running away, ran forward before rolling under her, which allowed him to get behind her. He looked at anything that could be a potential weak point… several white wires were jutting from her arms to her shoulders, as well as four on her helmet. Maybe that was the key?

"Cut Man, help me with this!" Mega Man took the initiative for his plan, equipping the Rolling Cutter.

"Just gimme the word!" Cut Man ran beside Mega Man.

"I'm going to try and get the wires on the shoulders, you get the ones on her head!" Mega Man watched as Hyper Roll turned around and got into a position like she was going to pounce, her maw opening wide to reveal that she had several more rows of sharp teeth.

"Well, we better not let her blow up then act like she don't know nobody." Cut Man tried to ease the air of tension, but his outdated reference just got a groan from Mega Man in response. "Sorry, sorry. Get ready, here she comes!"

Hyper Roll came charging towards them, this time attempting to swipe at them with her hands made into claws. Mega Man ducked under her hand while Cut Man leaped into the air, onto her head, clinging onto one of the wires for dear life.

Hyper Roll began to shake her head side-to-side in an attempt to fling Cut Man off, distracting her long enough for Mega Man to throw a Rolling Cutter at her right arm's wire. Immediately, it went limp, causing her to fall over to the side. Cut Man snipped one of the wires on her head, grabbing onto the green bow that decorated her helmet.

Hyper Roll pushed herself back up using her left arm, pulling on her limp right arm and tearing it off. She swung it down, using it as a club, and the resulting shockwave sent Mega Man flying back, his head whipping back against the ground. It was a good thing he had a helmet…

"Mega Man-!" Cut Man's grip loosened, allowing Hyper Roll to swing her head down and fling him into the ground. He let out a cry of pain, struggling to get back up as Hyper Roll looked down at Cut Man, her severed arm held high as she was about to crush him.

The Rolling Cutter that Mega Man threw hadn't come back to him yet… but it was about to. Hyper Roll's left arm suddenly went limp as well, causing her to drop her right arm right next to Cut Man.

"Talk about good timing!" Cut Man jumped onto the severed arm and used it as a platform to get onto Hyper Roll's other defunct arm. She flailed around, trying to shake him off once more, but he had a tight grip this time.

"Cut Man, you might want to watch out!" Mega Man equipped the Super Arm and ran up to the arm on the ground. "I'm going to see if this will work…"

"Well hurry up-!" Cut Man tried to climb faster, but Hyper Roll's arm, flopping all around, hit a wall, crushing him between two layers of cold metal.

"CUT!" Mega Man tossed the huge severed arm at her remaining arm, dismembering her once more. Hyper Roll's metallic shriek rang out through the arena as sparks flew from the stumps.

The metal giant dove down and tried to bite at Mega Man. Her teeth gnashed as her berserker instincts grew stronger and stronger. Mega Man knew what he had to do, running up to Hyper Roll and then leaping onto her head, just narrowly avoiding getting chomped down on.

Hyper Roll's head shook around once more, trying to fling Mega Man forward so she could bite down on him. Mega Man hung onto her bow before waiting to let go and land on her back. Taking this moment to carefully aim, he flung the Rolling Cutter at the last three wires. This was it, wasn't it…?

Hyper Roll scooted herself to a wall, screeching even louder as she tried to get back onto her feet. Her helmet started cracking apart, the wires holding her head together falling off to reveal a giant core.

The rest of her armor broke off, revealing circuitry and two more cores on her shoulders. And in the center of it all, on her chest, the real Roll was plugged into her, wearing armor similar to Mega Man's.

"ROLL!" Mega Man tossed another cutter at the wires plugged into Roll, sprinting over to catch her as she fell. "Roll! Are you okay?!"

"M…" Roll's body barely moved, but she was conscious. Her eyes fluttered open and she opened her mouth to speak. "Me… ga…"

"Roll, it's okay now. You're safe." Mega Man pressed his forehead onto Roll's.

"I-I'm sorry for worrying you all." Roll gave a weak smile in return. "I'm… glad that I was able to help you all find Wily's hideout."

"You're braver than I'll ever be, that's for sure."

"Don't talk like that. You're braver than you think you are, Mega. You got this far and had to fight me. That had to take a lot of willpower."

"Hhhgh…" Cut Man fell onto the ground from where he was on the wall. "Roll, could you at least help out with the recently destroyed instead of being dramatic?"

"Oh?" Roll looked at the destruction she had caused. "Oh…"

"Just take your time, chickadee." Bomb Man had been literally dragging his lower half to the center of the room. "Could you bring Oil Man over here?"

"S-Sure, I guess." Roll sighed and stood up, still trying to get adjusted to her normal body after what she had to endure.

"Mega Man, come in?" A feminine voice came in in place of Dr. Light's voice.

"Doctor Lalinde?" Mega Man looked over at the drone.

"Your father fainted when Hyper Roll appeared, I've been making sure he wasn't having a heart attack, so I couldn't pilot the drone up until now-" She was interrupted by a voice that came from outside the mic's range. "He's waking up, he should be back soon."

"That's good, I hope he didn't hit his head…" Mega Man sighed with relief. It took a lot to get Dr. Light to pass out.

"W-What are you saying- Light, you can't go there yourself!"

"H-Huh?!" Mega Man's expression turned serious.

Suddenly, Dr. Light's voice cut in. "I'm going there. I want to talk with Wily, personally."

"N-No, dad, you could get hurt!" Mega Man was scared now.

"I could, but I know it won't happen on your watch."

"…" Mega Man sighed. Dr. Light was right.

Roll and the rest of the Robot Masters were teleported out, and in their place, Dr. Light came in, wiping his forehead with a tissue. "Let's go. We don't have any time to waste."

"You're right. We have to put an end to all of this." Mega Man nodded.

"The authorities are heading towards your location as well." Dr. Lalinde's voice came in again. "In case anything happens to the drone and I can't teleport you and Light back to my lab, they should be able to bring you back to Colorado."

"Thanks for the info." Mega Man nodded. Before he went forward, he turned to Light and hugged him. "Thank you, dad. For everything you've done for me."

"And I want to thank you for everything you've done for the world." Dr. Light embraced his son and smiled.

Tears flowed from Mega Man's eyes again. But this time, it wasn't from despair nor anger. It was from fulfillment.

* * *

This was it, the highest floor of the CBRMP. With Dr. Light by his side, Mega Man walked down the hallway to the final door.

The lights had all been mysteriously shut off, and the lack of light pollution meant the sky outside the windows was starry and clear. The moon hung high above, the finishing touch on this dramatic final battle.

The door opened automatically. Wily was inviting them in, to their dooms. This time, Mega Man was prepared for what would come next: Dr. Wily himself.

"Come on out, Al." Dr. Light spoke calmly, but with conviction.

Footsteps could be heard from the catwalk above, Dr. Wily was glaring down at Dr. Light with all the intensity of the sun.

"Don't. You _DARE._ Call me that like we're still buddies." The venom in Dr. Wily's voice was something fierce.

"After all these years, I never thought I'd be able to talk to you again." Dr. Light's eyes looked damp. "I know there's no way to avoid what's going to come next, so let me just say something I should have, long long ago.

"I'm sorry for everything I've done. I should have seen the merits of your ideas." Tears went down his cheeks. "I should have told everyone to see them as well. I should have cherished you. I should have listened to you. Not doing any of that was the biggest mistake in my life, and if I had treated you better, you never would have gone down this path. I can never forgive myself."

Dr. Wily gripped the rails of the catwalk so hard his knuckles turned white. "Yes. You _should_ have. _**I'm glad we're in agreement. But your apology is too little too late.**_"

Dr. Light wiped his eyes. "You're right. Which is why I'm not afraid to say that more than I can't forgive myself… I can't forgive _you._

"You steal my robots, my _children_, you cause havoc across Mega City, you tried to brainwash my son, and you turned my daughter into that _beast._ I know what I've done had a negative impact. But what _you've_ done in the span of two days was atrocity after atrocity that I would never stoop down to.

"Now, I'm going to pay you back for the damage you've done." Dr. Light stepped back behind Mega Man. No doubt this place was going to become a warzone. "Mega Man, it's you now."

"Why don't you show us your final trick, the last weapon you have up your sleeve?" Mega Man's hand retracted, his Mega Buster coming out.

"I thought you'd never ask!" Wily jumped off the catwalk, his UFO floating in to catch him. "Behold, the ultimate combat machine, Wily Machine Number 1!" The saucer floated backward before resting itself in the cranium of a skull-shaped tank, and it introduced itself by shooting a cannon blast at the drone. There goes their escape route.

"But I'm afraid you won't live to tell everyone else about it! Nuha! Nuhahahahahahahaaaaaa!"

"Hmph… Is that so?" Dr. Light glared at Wily. "Then, a proposition. If you beat my son, then you can finally get your revenge… and take my life. But if my son wins, you will answer for your crimes."

"Tch, acting brave now, are we? That's only _if_ your little war machine wins."

"I'm. Not. A war machine." Mega Man stepped forward, defiantly.

"Oh, right, what else are you? His _son?_ It must be _SO NICE_ to have started a _**NEW FAMILY!**_" Wily gripped onto a Copy Chip, plugging it into his control panel before firing several fireballs in Mega Man's direction.

"This is going to be a piece of cake!" Mega Man ran forward with the Ice Slasher equipped, shooting at the cockpit like with the Reggae Machine. That proved effective, judging from Wily's reaction.

"Gh! Don't think it'll be easy forever!" He plugged in a different Copy Chip. "Time Slow!" Bells began to ring as the arena turned purple. Mega Man staggered as the Wily Machine came closer to him before firing off a cannon blast point-blank.

Mega Man clutched onto his chest, but he wasn't down yet. He equipped the Thunder Beam, firing several blasts to disrupt it before shooting the cockpit.

Wily swapped in another Copy Chip, the Thunder Beam. Mega Man had to think fast. Rolling Cutter or Oil Slider? He tried dodging one of the beams, but his core temporarily shorted out, leaving him open to electrocution.

"What's the matter?! You were talking big just a second ago!" Wily cackled and taunted Mega Man.

"HA!" Mega Man shouted out as he threw a Rolling Cutter at the cockpit, cracking the glass.

"Oh, that gives me an idea!" Wily swapped in another new Copy Chip, and he began to fire his own Rolling Cutters.

"N-No-" Mega Man looked around the room for any blocks he could toss at Wily, but nothing. In this distraction, he got a few cuts on his arms and one on his right leg. "T-Then how about this?!" Mega Man took a deep breath. He had to break out that special technique that he used on Cut Man.

Mega Man ran through a flurry of cutters, ducking and jumping, but seething in pain from his injuries. "Mega…" His fist glowed blue. "Upper!" His gashes had sparks shooting out as he did that, causing him to scream out. That punch worked but it wasn't as effective as it could have been.

"Stubborn kid, aren't ya?! Looks like I'll have to blow you away to put you down!" Wily swapped in yet another new Copy Chip.

Mega Man knew where Wily was going with that. He had to do something before he could use any of his Hyper Bombs. Quickly switching to the Fire Storm, Mega Man dashed forward and stuck his Mega Buster inside the cannon.

"W-What are you-" Wily couldn't finish that as flames filled the cannon.

The bombs inside began blowing up themselves, shaking the Wily Machine up and causing it to not only break down but completely fall apart.

Mega Man panted and backed up, his injuries still stinging. He was running out of energy once more… "Give it up, Wily! I broke your quote-unquote 'ultimate' combat machine!"

"N-No, this can't be it! Work, damn it!" Wily slammed on the control panel, before pulling out a hammer and starting to whack it. "WORK!"

"Do you really think that'll-" Mega Man walked up to apprehend Wily, but was suddenly knocked back as several mechanical spider legs shot out from the bottom. The Wily Machine pushed itself out of the wreckage before the legs fell off, leaving the machine hovering in midair.

"T-This… isn't over!" Wily panted, his hands were starting to get more shaky on the controls. "I'll prove to the world my genius, and you won't stand in my way!"

"Y-Your machine is about to fall apart!"

"SO ARE YOU!" By some twisted miracle, the cannon was still able to shoot. Hyper Bombs came shooting out towards Mega Man.

Mega Man ducked and ran under them, the explosions still rocking him even if he wasn't in the blast radius. Mega Man didn't have time to attack before Dr. Wily switched the Copy Chips. Ice Slashers came firing out, hitting Mega Man in the leg and freezing it to the ground.

"Y-You… I won't lose to you!" Mega Man, in a fit of desperation, equipped the Hyper Bomb. He tried to take careful aim, but his wounds made it difficult for him to keep his buster arm steady. Wily took this moment to back his machine away from Mega Man. It grew two new spidery limbs, this time with ends that resembled drills.

"GO, GO!" The Wily Machine charged like a raging bull.

Mega Man couldn't escape as the machine's arms rammed into him with the force of a truck, his frozen leg still stuck to the ground as he was flung to the side like a ragdoll.

With a loud crash, Mega Man rolled across the ground, completely limp…

"…Ha…! Haha! NUHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!" Dr. Wily laughed like a maniac. "I DID IT! I TOOK THAT STUPID BLUE BRAT OUT!" He cackled and guffawed, howled and roared. "I guess if you want to do something, you have to do it yourself!"

Dr. Light turned his head, trying not to cry seeing his son in the condition he was. But he saw Mega Man's finger twitch. He knew what he was doing. Dr. Light nodded to himself as he faced Dr. Wily.

"So you beat him." Dr. Light's expression was resigned. He backed up against the locked door, looking up at Dr. Wily. "I'm willing to uphold my end."

"Huh?" Dr. Wily looked at Light with confusion. "You're… not even going to run? You're just going to let yourself die?"

"You destroyed my son. I have no way to escape. Why should I struggle?" Dr. Light gave a sorrowful grin. "And besides, it's my retribution for what I did to you anyway."

"What…? What are you trying to pull?!" Dr. Wily's hands shook on the joysticks.

"Do it. Finish your dream. Prove to the world your superior genius."

Dr. Wily shook his head, his thumbs on the triggers. He could push them at any moment. But he didn't. His eyes grew puffy, his breath shaking like an earthquake. He couldn't bring himself to do it, could he?

"Well?" Dr. Light didn't look surprised. He knew Dr. Wily still had goodness inside him. He couldn't kill anyone, not even his mortal enemy.

The mortal enemy he still loved deep down.

"Shut up…" Tears streamed down Dr. Wily's cheeks. "Shut up…!"

* * *

Mega Man took aim. He looked inside the cockpit of the Wily Machine for something, anything he could still shoot. There was a button attached to one of the walls inside of it, encased in glass. And if there's anything that could be pushed to finish anything, it was a big red button.

"This is the end…" Mega Man said aloud as he fired three solar bullets at that button. One to break the glass, one to get the glass out of the way, and one to hit the button.

"W-WHAT?!" Dr. Wily swung around to look at the robot he thought he destroyed. He swung to face Dr. Light, who had a knowing expression on his face. And then he swung around to face the button that had just been pushed.

"Self-destruct initiated. Five… Four…"

"LIGHT, YOU BASTAAAAARD!" Dr. Wily jumped out of the Wily Machine as it exploded behind him, sending him flying towards Dr. Light.

"Looks like I'm the winner after all." Dr. Light looked down at Dr. Wily.

"N-No, it can't be, I- You- Mega Man-" Dr. Wily crawled back, trying to get away from Dr. Light, but he felt cold metal grip his shoulder. Mega Man had also crawled over to keep him from getting away, even with just one leg.

Dr. Wily shrieked and jumped away before he got on his knees, hands in the air. He quickly bowed down with his head on the ground. "I'M SORRY!"

"W-What?" Those were words that Dr. Light never thought he'd hear from Wily.

"Y-You were right! I was wrong! I took it all too far for such petty, petty reasons! I'll- I'll pay for my crimes in full! I'll do the time, I'll help make reparations, I'll do anything to make up for what I did! Just please, please forgive meeeeeee…" Wily cried even more than he already was as he looked up at the two, his hands clasped together as he begged and pleaded.

"I'm not the one you should be telling that to." Dr. Light looked up at the skylight, several lights flashing through as it shattered.

"Doctor Albert W. Wily…" Gil came sliding down on a rope, stun gun at the ready.

"You're under arrest!" Roslyn slid down after, carrying the cuffs.


	14. Epilogue to Mega Man 1

Thanks to the heroic actions of Mega Man, peace has once again been restored.

Even the nefarious Dr. Wily seems to have had a change of heart and is now ready to work for a peaceful tomorrow.

* * *

**Megadome, Mega City, Colorado**

**May 30, 20XX**

Dr. Light instinctively looked from behind the curtains once more. Only this time, Rock and Roll weren't there in the front row. It was President Lilian Bellamy herself; her First One, Professor Moustapha Gombey, the head of the Robotics Ethics Committee, sat beside her.

"ALRIGHT, PLACES EVERYONE!" Elec Man clapped his hands. "This is going to be bar none the most important event of our lives! Do NOT mess it up!"

"Calm down, Elec Man-" Time Man was interrupted by more yelling.

"What do you MEAN calm down?! We are doing this in front of the PRESIDENT! If we mess up, we may as well be embarrassing ourselves in front of the ENTIRETY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND THEN SOME!"

"Well, you screamin' about it ain't inspirin' confidence." Oil Man scoffed.

"Don't you ever take things seriously?!" Elec Man stomped up to him.

"Sometimes." Oil Man shrugged.

"Then take THIS seriously!"

"Everyone!" A boyish voice rang out. Mega Man had stepped out from the backstage. "Let's do our best! We're Doctor Light's robots after all. We can't be beaten!"

Everyone seemed to relax as Mega Man spoke. He was so cheerful and calm that it was infectious.

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Someone else stepped behind the group.

"Huh? Roll? You're joining us too?"

"Did you forget already?" Roll knocked her head and stuck her tongue out. "Dad upgraded me too!"

"O-Oh yeah! He told me he'd do that some time ago!" Mega Man looked excited, his hands flapped a little bit.

"Well, no time to just stand around, we got a minute left until the contest starts!" Roll began to glow, armor forming over her dress. "Let's rock and roll!"

"YEAH!" They all shouted out together. They were going to make everyone proud.

* * *

"You're sure nothing bad's gonna happen this time, right?" Gil looked over at Roslyn. They stood in front of the stage once more, watching for suspicious activity.

"I mean, unless if Dr. Light somehow made even more enemies than he's letting on, I'm sure we're going to be fine."

"What about the Emerald Spears? What about Simone and Theo?"

"Orlena's taking… good care of those two. I'm sure their information didn't leak out before today."

"Are you absolutely-"

"You're just trying to find an excuse to get out of here and 'investigate' so you can see Ozzy, aren't you?" Roslyn teased Gil.

"N-No-" Gil turned as red as a beet.

"I'm just kidding, lover boy." Roslyn snickered.

"Screw you." Gil looked away, grumpy now.

* * *

Blues stood on a hill and whistled. Shoegaze was so absorbed in that damn contest and he needed to find a place to get his mind off of Dr. Light.

He took both solace and anguish in the fact that maybe Dr. Light forgot about him. Maybe he didn't care about him anymore. Hell, he's already got ten children to replace him.

But that was the thing, wasn't it? That Blues was easily replaced. Who would want a broken, defective robot such as him?

"Blues?" Tempo came up beside the lone wolf, her expression more solemn than stoic. "Are you… okay?"

"Hunky-dory, thanks for asking."

"Sorry I asked, then." Tempo couldn't read faces, but she could read tone. She turned to walk away.

"N-No, Tempo, I'm... sorry." Blues sighed. "I just… have you ever felt alone? So crushingly alone, despite knowing you have friends?" Blues pulled at the grass "Or... Outdated, in a sense. Purposeless. Nothing you do will ever really matter and it hurts."

"Blues." Tempo held onto his hands. Even though they didn't talk with each other too much, she hated seeing him like this. "I don't think I could truly understand how that feels, but I will try everything in my power to help you overcome those feelings."

"You're too kind to a lost cause like me."

"You're not a lost cause. As long as you need help, at least one person out there can help you." Tempo held onto his hands tighter. "You're going to get better."

"What, you trying to make a promise?"

"I'm making a threat."

Damn, she seems to have picked up on his sense of humor. "Alright, if you say so."

* * *

Dr. Light went on to win first place in the LIT Manual Design Contest once more, making it his fourth win in a row. Not only did he demonstrate his new line of industrial robots, but he also showed the first steps into time travel research, as well as a new era of heroes that can protect the world from ruin. He plans on creating more Robot Masters in the future in even more different fields of work.

Cut Man's job as a normal lumber robot is the same as always. His bad luck streak seems to be letting up, though. He even found a coworker in Wily's SWN-00B, Power Man. Minus the flaming chainsaw this time.

Guts Man continues his job in land reclamation and construction work around Mega City. The Neo Metalls help him out with carrying tools and supplies, even lunch for his crew.

Ice Man is now a well-known environmentalist and found work outside of the zoo. His true purpose of Antarctic research has come to light, and he has a reliable crew with him as they research weather and animal populations.

Bomb Man's good luck didn't stop at the demolition crew greenlighting his hiring. He's also a part of Guts Man's land reclamation crew, his Hyper Bombs coming in handy for blowing up bedrock.

Fire Man's life is just about the same, with a stable job in garbage disposal. However, you can bet on him coming to the rescue if evil's afoot, with the combat-oriented abilities that had been built into him.

Elec Man still works at the power plant as normal, but he has been making visits to Mega City's boutique on his days off. He's considered picking up a side career in drag, the rush of the audience giving him a high like no other.

Time Man has been made a member of the Chronos Institute, a research laboratory for time and space, run by Doctor Shou Kouin. Time Man also works in surgery, being able to treat people in times that no ordinary doctor would normally be able to.

Oil Man is the one who has the most simple life out of all of the Light robots. He just refuels robots and supplies oil for machinery and spends his free time at the skate park with all the other "hip" kids.

And as for Mega Man? The never-ending battle he fights isn't going to be over until all the forces of evil are beaten.

Lucky for him, he doesn't have to do it alone. He finally has an equally mighty partner in his sister Roll. Or, should we say…

Mighty Woman.

* * *

Fight, Mega Man!

For everlasting peace!


	15. Prelude to Mayhem

what am I doing with myself other than procrastinating before writing something I feel almost disappointed with

I'm still recruiting beta readers because I'm desperate.

My co-writer has allowed me to use their characters in this story as well. Say hello to Doctor Rosa Green in this chapter.

* * *

"And the winner of this year's LIT Manual Design Contest is…" Mayor Dorado hyped up the audience, "Doctor Thomas Light!"

Dr. Wily paused the recording and leaned onto the table, his hand covering his eyes. Of course, it had to be _him_ again.

He intended to stop the recording, but his finger stopped when he saw the president and her First One step onto the stage. What could they possibly want with Dr. Light?

He let the recording continue.

"Doctor Light. Honestly, this is a great pleasure." President Bellamy shook his hand firmly, her voice cool and collected.

"I should be the one saying that about _you,_ Mrs. President." Dr. Light was visibly nervous, but he tried his best to keep calm.

"Moustapha always told me you were the best student in not just his classes, but the whole of the institute."

"And Professor Gombey was the best teacher I could have asked for during my time at the Robot Institute of Technology. I don't think I could have made it through my years in the institute without him. I don't think I'd even be alive right now if he wasn't there for me."

"I remember full well, Thomas." Professor Gombey placed a hand on Dr. Light's shoulder. "I sat next to you during the day you brought your research to the Robotics Ethics Committee, rooting for you the whole time. The idea of making robots who were more than just tools, but friends or even children in your case, was revolutionary at the time. It's still strange to see how normalized the concept is nowadays."

"But I still have regrets about that day." Dr. Light's expression darkened.

"You shouldn't. Even if you weren't there, I'm sure that Doctor Wily's research would have been rejected."

"That reminds me... I want to thank Wily."

"For what?"

"I wouldn't have made a hero if it wasn't for him. Through Mega Man's actions, I hope that I can inspire people to keep our Earth safe and fight against injustice. When we all come together, we can do anything-"

SMASH!

Dr. Wily broke the TV.

"They still talk about you as if your ideas have no merit." A deep voice came from the darkness beyond Wily's vision. "You're not going to let that stand, are you? Prove to them that they can't keep you down forever."

* * *

**June 8, 20XX+1**

"Excellent job, Mega Man." Dr. Light spoke into the microphone. "You haven't gotten rusty so to speak."

"I can't let that happen if I'm going to stay a hero." Mega Man hasn't aged a day, being a robot.

"Now it's your turn, Mighty Woman." Dr. Light turned to his daughter. Roll stretched, pumping herself up before walking into the training room.

"Alright, Pikopiko-kun! Gimme your worst!" Roll stood in place, beginning her transformation into Mighty Woman. Armor like Mega Man's, except red and pink, and more dress-like. Her hair grew longer and braided, her bow attached to her helmet, and a sash wrapped around her waist. As a final touch, her leggings turned into shorts.

"Alright, engaging the holograms," said Dr. Light. From the ceiling, a large orb covered by a glass dome descended. "Pikopiko-kun's attacks and the damage you take are completely simulated, so no need to worry about injury or repairs."

"Nifty." Mighty Woman's hand retracted, and out came an arm cannon like what Mega Man had. "Alright, let's see how they like the Mighty Buster!" Instead of solar bullets, however, the Mighty Buster had a different method of attack. A solar blade.

Four tiles floated from the floor and walls, two tiles coming together to form a drone.

Mighty Woman ran forward and jumped into the air, slashing at one drone. The Mighty Buster made quick work of it, but the other drone floated even higher.

"Get back here!" Bursts of fire came from the bottoms of Mighty Woman's boots, boosting her higher so she could slash the other drone down. With the lack of range her attacks had, she compensated with the range of her movement.

"That's it for your basic abilities, now try using the Variable Weapon System."

"Huh? But you didn't give me the data chips-" Mighty Woman was interrupted by several logs and blocks dropping in from the ceiling, with Dr. Light's other Robot Masters dropping in shortly afterward.

"You're doing a mighty fine job, keep it up!" Cut Man chuckled at his pun as he and the others tossed their Copy Chips one-by-one to Mighty.

"Do pops proud, Mighty!" Guts Man's voice was as strong and kind as ever.

"Don't give up, sis!" Ice Man saluted Mighty Woman.

"Blow 'em away!" Bomb Man swiped his thumb across his nose.

"Burn with the flames o' justice!" Three guesses as to who that is.

"Give it your all, sweetie." Elec Man smiled gently at Mighty Woman.

"Good luck." Time Man spoke simply and soundly.

"Do ya best, girl!" Oil Man clapped his hands together.

Mighty Woman was touched by this gesture. "Thank you all…" Each Copy Chip was placed into her Mighty Buster. "Let's do this!"

Several more logs fell down around Mighty Woman, surrounding her. She took this moment to switch to the Rolling Cutter. Her armor changed much in the same way Mega Man's did, with the addition of her hair turning silver (perhaps Mega Man's hair also changed with his abilities).

With just one twirl, two scissors appeared in her hands, and she cut down all the logs in one fell swoop.

"Awright!" Mighty Woman got excited before regaining her cool. Switching to the Super Arm, she ran towards the nearest block and punched it, sending chunks flying into the wall.

"Behind you." Dr. Light's voice hit Mighty Woman's ears before she swung around to see a myriad of drones that Pikopiko-kun had formed.

"Time to get serious." The next weapon in the cycle was the Ice Slasher. Waiting for several of the drones to fly towards her, an icicle sword shot out of her Mighty Buster. One swing destroyed the drones that came too close for comfort, another produced a below-freezing cloud that froze the ones that were further back.

Mighty equipped the Hyper Bomb next, producing a big bomb at the end of her Mighty Buster. She ran towards the frozen drones and punched the ground, detonating the bomb. This launched her into the air and shattered them.

"Four more weapons now, you're doing great." Dr. Light smiled to himself, proud of how he implemented his daughter's upgrades, but even prouder of her expertise in using them.

"Let's turn up the heat then!" Mighty Woman's next weapon was the Fire Storm, and as she was in the air, she aimed downward and sprayed a flaming stream onto the remainder of the drones before landing on top of one of the blocks that were spawned earlier.

"Three more…!" Mighty talked to herself, switching to the Thunder Beam which manifested as a taser baton. She aimed at one row of blocks and charged the baton before it shot out one big Thunder Beam, piercing through each block in that row.

A circle of drones descended around Mighty Woman, surrounding her and charging up a laser in each of their singular glassy eyes. Mighty Woman had to think fast…

"Two!" She switched to the Time Slow. The bells on her head ringing, she boosted upward and out of the circle before the drones fired, causing an explosion that left them all disintegrated. And yet more still came in, the last swarm...

"One!" Mighty Woman's last weapon, the Oil Slider, came from her boots. Oil sprayed from where her rocket boosters were as she slid forward. Globs of oil burst all around the trail she left, hitting each and every drone that she wasn't ramming into.

And with that, the test was complete.

"Woo!" Auto clapped and cheered. "That was awesome, Mighty!"

"It's nothing, really." Roll shifted out of her armor, blushing from the praise she was getting.

"Well done, Roll." Light disabled the hologram system. "Both you and Rock passed with flying colors. Now, you and he should get ready to go out later."

"Oh yeah, don't think we forgot already." Roll giggled. "I'm so excited!"

"What is it anyway?" Bomb Man stuck his beak in this business as he is wont to do.

"It's just a meeting with some other roboticists, no big deal." Rock scratched his head.

"No big deal? This is the Roboticists' Wired Conference we're talking about!" Roll papped Rock on the shoulder.

"Whaaaat?" Cut Man looked over. "What do you mean it's no big deal, Rock?! The RWC's like the Met Gala! Except for nerds. And it's way smaller. And not as famous. And nothing like the Met Gala. I wanna come!"

"I mean, they all just talk about stuff and exchange ideas, I dunno what all the hubbub's about." Rock seemed to just take it for what it was.

"You never know what bright ideas can come from it." Time Man stepped behind Rock wearing a somewhat fancier version of a medical doctor's uniform. "Dr. Kouin is bringing me there once I punch in."

"He improved your Time Slow yesterday, didn't he? I'm sure he's going to show it off!" Ice Man paced back and forth as he talked.

"It must be lots of fun, but most of us got jobs, unfortunately." Guts Man grunted and stretched.

"Job, schmob, I just wanna be where the fun is!" Oil Man grumped around.

"Now now, a job means you all get paid, and a scientist's got to eat." Dr. Light grinned. His children really were just children deep down.

"Yeah, why else do you think my shop's open 24/7? That means money at all times!" Auto crossed his arms.

"Maybe one day I can take you all to an event that's even more special than this." Dr. Light looked to Oil Man.

"Pwomiiiise?" Oil Man made a faux baby voice while putting his hand up to his chin.

"Promise." Dr. Light patted Oil Man on the head.

* * *

"Come on, at least fix your tie." Roll reached over to pull down on a necktie that Rock put on.

"Sorry, I just… never dressed so fancy before." Rock squirmed a little in the new suit. He was so uncomfy in the whole tuxedo that he switched out the pants for a pair of khaki shorts.

"You're such a baby, you know that?" Roll chuckled and flipped down his collar as well.

"Yeah…" Rock's hair had just been freshly washed as well, going into its natural 3c texture.

"I almost forgot you gel your hair, I think you look cuter with your natural hair." Roll patted him on the head.

"Don't dote on me, I'm the big sibling here!" He chuckled. "Spiking it makes me look the part of a hero!"

"Hot-blooded shonen protagonist, huh?" Roll shook her ponytail around, it was naturally a more coily texture than Rock's.

"I think your natural hair looks pretty too!" Rock slicked his hair back, tying it into a mid-hanging ponytail. "Though I wonder why our hair isn't as coily as Light's."

"Now that you mention it, his hair is more coily than both our hair combined! I think we should ask him about it later." Roll let her hair down only to pull it back up, replacing her bow with a hair tie with two wings on each side.

* * *

"Oh, dear…" Dr. Light opened up drawer after drawer but whatever he was looking for, he just couldn't find it.

"Doctor Light! I'm ready!" Rock called from their room before he bolted out. "What'cha looking for?"

"I must have misplaced the blueprints for Pikopiko-kun and the hologram system, I can't find them." He went to the lab's main computer, opening up a menu for the built-in printer.

"We can find it for you, don't worry!"

"No, I don't think we'll have enough time. I'm just going to print out new copies." Several sheets of blueprint paper started to slide out of a slot on the computer's base. "I appreciate the offer, though."

"What's this other blueprint?" Rock poked another roll of blueprint paper. It uncurled, revealing a design for a female Robot Master with the features of a honey bee.

"Well, you see, Honey Woman isn't Honey Woman anymore. He's Hornet Man now."

"Oh! You mean like Splash Woman isn't Ocean Man anymore?"

"But Splash Woman says the form of Ocean Man can be more useful for land-based operations. Hornet Man isn't considering changing back at all. So I'm going to hand over this design to someone else at the RWC so they can make something out of it. And speaking of older designs…" Dr. Light opened another drawer and pulled out a few more blueprints.

"Weather Man, Plasma Man, Space Man…" Rock looked at the other three that were pulled out. "Hard to believe these were what Tornado, Plug, and Galaxy used to be. You haven't even finished Galaxy Man and already he's way different than his blueprints!"

"I respect my robots' decisions to change who they are, but these designs shouldn't go to waste. I think of this the same way I think of donating baby clothes. They're no use for who they used to be for, but someone else can make use of them." Dr. Light smiled.

"I'm ready!" Roll came out at last… With the only big change other than her outfit being she did her eyebrows.

"Then let's go!" Light folded the blueprints back up before bagging them.

* * *

"Never thought we'd get this far, eh?" Roslyn packed up the belongings that were at her desk in the police station.

"Yeah, it feels like only yesterday since we were asked to become federal agents." Gil looked wistful as he turned in his badge, replacing it with the badge the mayor had given them. "Gonna have to get used to not being bound by this place's schedule now."

"That means y'all ain't coming in anymore?" Marcellus stood by the door, almost heartbroken by all this. They were probably his closest companions during his time in the station.

"Oh, don't be a baby, Marc. We're still working in the city, you might catch us." Roslyn held her hand out, balled into a fist.

"Yeah, but it just ain't gonna be the same no more." He bumped his fist into hers. "I mean, now _I'm_ the detective! I gotta fill those shoes! And Gil's got some bigass shoes-" Marc started trailing off, losing track of the metaphor and thinking literally.

"You'll do fine, you earned that position." Gil placed a hand on Marc's head.

"Aw man, y' messed up my hair!" Marc pulled away. "Anyway, you two're gonna be at the RWC, right?"

"I'm just going there in hopes of catching any Emerald Spear scumbag that decides today's a good day to disturb the peace." Gil spat to the side. "I don't give a shit about any of that robot talk."

"He was planning to go on a date to that fancy restaurant with Ozzy and coincidentally the RWC was going to be held there today." Roslyn snickered.

"Would you _shut up?_ God, I dunno how I handled being with you this whole time!"

"Come on, I'm only saying that with the highest of affection for you."

"You can stand to show me less. And besides, weren't you going there on a date too?"

"Yeah, but at least I admit it-" Roslyn's cell phone started to ring. "Hold on, lemme get this." She picked up. "Hey, I'm at the station, just got that dress and I'm about to-" She stopped dead in her tracks. "What…?"

Gil and Marc leaned in to try and see if they could overhear anything, but Roslyn paced away and looked distraught.

"W-Why? Come on, we've planned this for-" She was on the verge of crying. "Just to try it- You led me on like that and kissed me just to _try it?!_ GO TO HELL!" Roslyn threw her phone against the wall.

"Oof…" Marcellus cringed. "I… Damn, that's just cold of her."

"Every. Goddamn time. I think I found the right one. She just. Turns around and…" She curled up against the wall.

"Hey, uh, I dunno if you like men, but you don't gotta go alone." Marc held his hand out.

Roslyn stayed quiet before looking up. "I… that's nice of you." She held onto his hand before standing up. "At least my phone isn't broken."

"Yyyyyeah, you really should keep your impulses in check." Marc picked it up and handed it to Roslyn. "You can at least trust me not to ditch you midway. You don't like men that way, right?"

"Not particularly."

"Well, I love 'em to bits."

"That's reassuring for me." Roslyn chuckled.

* * *

Back in Mega City. It's almost like opening an old toybox for the three in the van. So many memories came from this city alone.

"Remember your manners when we get there. It's a very fancy place and we need to make good impressions." Dr. Light took on a gentle tone with his two kids, but there was still an air of sternness behind it.

"So that explains the suit…" Rock played with his tie a little bit.

"Don't mess with the tie again, I can't fix it forever you know." Roll held onto Rock's hand to get him to stop.

"Sorry." Rock rolled his eyes.

"Here, you can have this to fidget with." Roll pulled out a small cube with different buttons on it.

"Thanks." Rock took it and started fiddling about with the buttons before dropping it when a ringtone played through the car speakers.

"Time Man?" Dr. Light looked at the caller ID before pressing the answer button. "Hello?"

"Doctor, don't expect me to be there. An emergency just happened." Time Man spoke quickly, his stoic voice on the verge of panic.

"Wait, what's going on?"

"I had a little boy waiting for an appendectomy. Just a minute ago he complained about his stomach hurting before going into shock. His appendix burst!"

"Oh, no…"

"Doctor Kouin is going to be at the conference without me. Rock, Roll, I'm sorry that you won't get to see me there. That's all I need to tell you." Time Man's voice went quiet as someone else within his range started talking. "Okay. Let's begin the operation. Hang in there, D'Sean…" And then he hung up.

The three in the van went silent. Dr. Light tried to keep his breathing steady before speaking. "You two ought to be thankful you don't have to worry about the kinds of things that can happen to the human body." He chuckled nervously.

"Is the boy going to be okay…?" Rock held onto Roll's hand again.

"Hopefully." Dr. Light responded simply.

"He's under Time Man's care! Time Man can save people's lives in a window of time that humans can't!" Roll smiled at Rock.

"Yeah… That's right." Rock nodded.

* * *

"Thanks for bringing me here." Shoegaze's outfit could arguably be considered fancy, really stretch the definition and then squint at it hard enough. Just a peacoat and a pair of slacks, plus some no-brand leather shoes.

"It's the least I could do. I hope you're not bothered by old people screaming about robots as background noise." Doctor Lalinde brushed Tempo's hair out of her face and to the side. "Are you ready, dear?"

"I reduced my audio input and I've activated my directional microphone. Overstimulation won't be an issue for now." Tempo nodded.

"Good, I want this to be fun for you." Lalinde hugged her daughter, looking over to a van that pulled into the parking lot. "Oh, and there's the good Doctor Light."

"Sweet, I'll hide in the bathroom 'til Gil gets here." Shoegaze stepped into the building.

"Hi, Dr. Lalinde!" Rock jumped out of the car and ran up to hug Tempo. "Hello, Tempo!"

"H-" Tempo was surprised, but more than that, she was touch-averse to people she didn't know well. "Hello." She tried to pull out of the hug as politely as she could.

"Sure looks fancy." Roll whistled.

"Well, no use loitering out here, let's go inside." Dr. Light was of good cheer and spirit.

"With pleasure." Lalinde held the door open for them.

* * *

True to Light's word, this was indeed a classy place. You hear the phrase "five-star restaurant" and you'd think of this place.

The people who have gathered there, on the other hand, weren't exactly the bougie type.

"Light!" A big man, somehow even bigger than Light, gave the doctor a bear hug. His two arms easily lifted him off the ground.

"Whoa! Hello to you, Pedro…" Dr. Light's face went flushed.

"Dr. Astil!" Rock ran up and hugged Pedro's leg. "It's been so long!"

"Yeah, between the botanical garden and the United Nations, I've got very little free time. But! I've decided to cut my workload in half!"

"Really? How?"

"Olá!" A higher voice came from behind Pedro. Another Robot Master waved to Rock. He was very youthful, with four petals surrounding his head and green hair flowing from under his helmet.

"You made a robot?!" The boy got ever more excited, running over to the new face. "Hello!"

"You must be Rock, right? My name is Plant Man, I run Dr. Astil's garden now so he doesn't have to worry about it while he's away researching for the U.N."

"That's them, ain't they?" "Yeah, Light's kids!" Two voices came from a nearby table.

"Huh?" Rock turned to where the voices were coming from and he was surprised to see two soldiers in full gear.

"Oh, don't mind them. They're my escorts. The one with the mohawk's Jack Kage, the other's Kyle Jables." Pedro coughed, and they saluted. "The higher-ups told me it's unsafe to go to these kinds of events without 'em. Emerald Spears and all."

"Never thought we'd see Mega Man for real!" Jack's attitude was rather un-soldier-like.

"Not gonna pay any attention to Mighty Woman even though she's right there? You sicken me!" Kyle flicked Jack on the head.

"Please, just call us Rock and Roll." Roll shook her head, trying not to laugh.

"Quit screwing around, you two." Pedro sighed. "They're both more competent than they seem. I just wish they treated this professionally."

"Oh, I believe it. It's got to be difficult to become a soldier, and one working for the U.N. no less." An older, more floaty voice came from a table. It seemed a bit more unsteady than the others' voices.

"Oh? I've never seen you before. Are you a roboticist too?" Lalinde had been quietly observing the two soldiers until this new face spoke up.

"I'm Doctor Rosa Green. I used to work at a laboratory of my own, but recently I've merged with Edogawa Labs for Medicinal and Technological Progress. I create bionic prostheses for organs and limbs." She stood up on shaky legs, using a cane to help herself stay balanced.

"You mean you make robotic parts for people? That's so cool!" Rock shook her hand, which also seemed to tremble in his grip.

"You can definitely say that…" Dr. Green looked to the side as if nervous, but her expression quickly brightened. "Ah, here comes Dr. Edogawa now!"

"Ah-" Without missing a beat, Rock spun around to face the entrance. A woman walked in, she looked less like a doctor and more like someone in her Sunday best. A wide-brimmed, yellow hat with a tiny tinge of green, sunglasses with transparent red rims, and a deep plum overcoat that flowed down to her ankles. The colors contrasted yet somehow worked together.

"Good afternoon, everyone. I hope I'm not late."

"Actually, you're right on time!" Dr. Light smiled and held his hand out. "I've seen you on the news before, Hayley. I never expected someone of your position to come here."

"You flatter me, Mr. Nobel Prize." Dr. Edogawa smiled, her handshake firm and steady.

"No, I'm serious! I don't have the smarts you do; not only can you physically repair an I.C. chip, but you can restore all the data within it as well! How do you do that?"

"Well, if you're a patient man, I could teach you myself. But it's not something one can just instantly master after learning it. There are a lot of twists and turns, dangers and such-" Edogawa stopped herself. "Sorry, I could go on forever, but I'm sure there are more… pressing matters?" She eyed Dr. Light's bag, one of the blueprints poking out.

"Oh! Yes, I have a few new pieces of tech to show, as well as old designs for Robot Masters I worked on. Whoever wants the old designs, take them." Light pulled out each blueprint and laid them out on the table.

Lalinde stood by the table, immediately drawn to the only female design out of all of them. "You know, I had been interested in making a sister for Tempo."

"Huh-" Tempo's eyes widened if just a teensy bit. This was news to her.

"Surprise." Lalinde picked up Honey Woman's blueprint and rolled it up. "I'll be taking this, please and thank you."

"Hey-" Pedro sighed. "Well, I guess Plant Man can pollinate the flowers himself…"

"If you're giving them away, then I'll take what could be useful to me." Dr. Edogawa's finger pointed around. "Weather Man and Space Man seem like a good investment of time and resources."

"Having your lab in the tallest building in the city helps." Dr. Green rolled up the two blueprints. "I'm sure Meddy will love to have two more siblings-"

"Doctor Green. We've been over this. My robots aren't made to be family, but to help the people progress and gain knowledge."

"Still… She'll appreciate having some more company." Rosa was taken aback, though her expression didn't show it.

* * *

While that was going down, Rock's eyes trailed around the restaurant, bored now that he knew all the people there… except for that tall, androgynous one in the black suit sitting at the corner table. Did he even see them when he first walked in?

Rock was going to ignore them at first. They were probably just a normal customer. But his eyes trailed to another table where a taller man with a full beard and braided hair sat… with the exact same type of suit.

That had to be a coincidence… Maybe he'll look up at the upstairs of the restaurant. But there stood two more people in black suits, one more butch with short hair and pierced ears, the other more effeminate with long box-braided hair.

What was going on…? Were they planning something? Rock felt a sense of dread building up in his mind.

"D-Doctor…?" Rock slowly inched his way towards Light and pulled on his sleeve.

"What is it, son?" Dr. Light held onto his son's hand, seeing how distraught he was.

"I think we should l-leave-"

"ORLENA?! IS THAT YOU?!" A shout came from the entrance, from one Roslyn Krantz, who ran towards the first one Rock saw.

"Never mind…" Rock felt a little better. If Roslyn trusted that person, then there was nothing to worry about.

* * *

"Secret Service is here too?" Marc scratched his head, his hands now free of Roslyn.

"Ever since Secret Service learned that there were Emerald Spears members in congress, their threat level on their terrorist watchlist jumped up a rank. They must be here for the same reason I am." Gil took his phone out to text "Ozzy".

"They got dates?"

"No, dumbass, to catch whatever Emerald Spears member enters the premises."

"Well if that's the case, since I'm not needed by Roslyn for now, I'm gonna watch outside." Marc pulled out a box of cigarettes and a lighter, going right back out for a smoke break.

Roslyn sat right across from Orlena. "It's been almost a year, have you had any luck finding Simone or Theo after they broke out or-"

"Our luck starts now. They can't keep running forever." Orlena picked up a glass and sipped out of it. "There's this pattern of them being drawn to robotics events. They can't resist. Even after being caught and escaping so many times, they never learn." Their broad shoulders lowered, relaxing from the atmosphere of the restaurant.

"That's what my gang's hoping for too." Roslyn looked at the cup. "Fancy drink you got there, what is it?"

"It's just a Bitmap Ginger." A soft drink.

"Right." Roslyn felt like she blew it already. "I'm gonna get myself a ginger drink too." Roslyn looked over at an approaching waiter. "Do you have Black Seal rum?"

"Why, yes we do, ma'am." The waiter's head bowed slightly.

"I'll have a Dark 'n' Stormy then. If it ain't Gosling's, it ain't a Dark 'n' Stormy."

"Drinking on the job?" Orlena's eyebrow raised.

"Hey, I could hold more liquor than most of my cohorts back in the force! It's gonna take more than just _one_ cocktail to take me out."

"Okay, but as soon as you talk like you're buzzed, I'm calling a cab." Orlena looked back at the entrance, almost like they were expecting an enemy to come in at any moment. "I gotta admit, though, you got great taste."

"My family's full Afro-Bermudian. Do you know how everyone has a connection to their heritage's food and culture? It's the same-"

"Giiiil?" Shoegaze exited the bathroom and thankfully cut Roslyn's inevitably long-winded speech short.

* * *

"Sorry to keep ya waiting, Ozzy." Gil walked up and patted his shoulder.

"It's fine, but I got tired of washing my hands until you got here." Shoegaze chuckled.

"I can smell the soap from up here." Gil snickered, holding onto his partner's hand and bringing it up to his face. "_Really_ bougie soap."

"What'd you expect? You're the one who picked the place with your last cop paycheck." Shoegaze was about to laugh at his joke, but the ringing of a rotary dial phone shot through the air.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound, which came from Dr. Edogawa.

"I'm sorry, I have to get this." She lifted her cellphone to her ear. This was her ringtone. "Edogawa speaking… Meddy. What is it?" She nodded her head once or twice. "I see… I'll be there ASAP." She put her cellphone back in her pocket. "I'm so sorry to cut my visit short, but I have important business to attend to back at my lab. Doctor Green, would you kindly hand over the blueprints? I'll take them back while you stay here."

"Of course." Rosa did as she was told, though her face betrayed her anxiety.

"Thank you. It's been fun while it lasted." Dr. Edogawa strolled to the entrance before turning around to face everyone. Her sunglasses hid where her eyes were looking, but Shoegaze felt a strange chill go down his spine. "I'll be seeing you all another time." Exit stage right.

"…Okay, I'm not the only one who's calling shenanigans, am I?" Shoegaze looked around to the confused patrons. "Seriously? I'm the only one?"

Orlena took another sip out of their glass and spoke up. "Actually… The way she handled her cellphone _was_ a bit peculiar."

"Huh?" Dr. Light walked over to Orlena's table. "How so?"

"She had her cellphone in her hand even before it rang." From where Orlena was sitting, they had a good view of the action. "I didn't see her move her thumb to press a button to hang up, either. Now, if this Meddy character had hung up first, I could give her the benefit of the doubt, but combine that with the first tell, and it's safe to assume that she forced her phone to play a ringtone."

"And?" Pedro had a slight smirk on his face. "Maybe she was just anxious and wanted to leave, that doesn't harm anyone, does it?"

"Not unless if that anxiety was caused by another guest." Orlena looked to Shoegaze.

"So I'm not crazy? She left because I walked into the room?" Shoegaze's weird feeling seemed to have more of a reason than simple paranoia.

"Do you two know each other?"

"Hell no, never even met her in real life."

"You noticed how the rims of her sunglasses were see-through, right?" Orlena poked at her monolens sunglasses. "From her side, I saw she was gazing straight forward."

"Right at me?!"

"Correct."

Shoegaze's imagination started to run wild, but he couldn't focus on it as Marcellus ran in and shouted.

"E-Everyone! This is not a drill! Emerald Spears members have entered the parking lot!"


End file.
